The Bear and I
by djinni14
Summary: This is a story about the Bear and I. It's a true story since i only tell true stories. Honest! It's all true, ... mostly. I never believed something like this could happen to me. I hope you enjoy my story, my life, my dream come true. Maybe it will live well past my years. I'd like to think so. - Now Complete
1. Chapter 1

**The Bear and I**

 **CH1**

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to 2016. This story is at the request of Lady Ailith who is also my beta reader and has been for a couple of stories now. She manages to find almost all of my mistakes and i have my fair share of them. Bless her and the hard work that she puts in.

She has a favorite theme (Plot) of books that she likes to read. She asked if i could take her favorite theme of books and make a Caskett story using it. This story exists thanks to her vision. I hope you enjoy it.

Daily updates will continue as is typical for my stories. However i have a cruise to go on at the end of January into the first week of February so during this time there will be a pause in updates.

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"I'm going into work now Mom," Kate yelled but got no response. She sighed heavily and lowered her head. It had been like this for weeks. She herself was hurting but her mother was shutting down, becoming completely withdrawn. It was all Kate could do to get her to eat. Even then all her mother did was pick at her food. It was causing Kate's heart more pain than she could hardly bear.

Her mother didn't get dressed anymore and moped around the house in her pajamas all day and that was when she decided to stay up at all. Kate was at least thankful that she still showered. She wasn't even cooking any more, although her mother had been a pretty good cook. Or at least Kate thought so. Now she wished she had paid more attention to the cooking lessons her mom had tried to teach her. Her blowing the cooking lessons off were coming back to haunt her. They couldn't keep eating take out day after day.

Kate pulled her weapon out of the drawer that she had commandeered, hooked her badge into place, gathered up her handcuffs, radiation detector, and stuffed her back-up weapon into her ankle holster. With her wallet in her back pocket and keys in hand, she went out the door, locked it behind her, and prayed that they didn't get a body drop today so she could make it home at a decent time and try and reach her mother.

It was only as Kate got in her car that it occurred to her that she had a meeting with their lawyer during lunch. Lunch then, unfortunately, was going to have to be eaten on the fly today. Maybe a hot dog from one of those little carts, wolfing it down followed by some of the city's worst coffee.

"Not today. …Today I'm going down the street and get real coffee," Kate told herself. It was an indulgence that meant the rest of the week she'd have to drink the crap in the homicide department's breakroom. Money was just too tight right now.

That was another problem that needed to be solved. They were living off of her paycheck since her mother didn't go into work anymore and was on an extended medical leave. It had taken all of Kate's hard work and persistence to get her mother's office to accept an extended medical leave just to keep her job. The problem was that she had no idea of just when, if ever, her mother was going back to work. Her mother likely had a bank account, however she wasn't talking and barley living, Kate didn't know what was in it and had no access to it.

Kate was sitting at her desk waiting for the rest of her team to get into the 12th precinct. Even Montgomery wasn't in his office. Still he was likely around here somewhere.

"Hey Beckett," Esposito called as he entered the bullpen and headed for his desk. "Hi Espo." Kate wanted to be upbeat, but she just didn't have it in her. Espo took the hint and shook his head at his partner when he entered so they both left Kate alone.

Eventually she spotted Captain Montgomery in his office and cursed internally that she was so out of it she hadn't seen him enter his office. Still she needed to talk to him so she was up and knocking on his door frame. "Do you have a minute sir?" She had already told him what had happened and he had been more than understanding up to this point."What can I do for you Beckett? How's your mother?" He really was concerned about the people that worked under him. Some people were hard cases in the New York Police Department, but he wasn't one of them.

"I have an appointment with our lawyer during lunch today. I should be back by 1:00 pm sir," Kate informed him. "Take whatever time you need Beckett. You can meet up with Esposito and Ryan if they catch a case while you're gone," Montgomery told her. "Thank you sir. I'll try not to let it interfere with my work." Kate turned to leave.

"Beckett!" She turned back to face him. "You have more than enough accrued time off if you choose to use it. Take the week off and tend to your mother," Montgomery suggested. "I prefer to keep busy sir, but I'll consider it sir. Thank you."

She headed back to her desk and waited until about 20 minutes before her appointment to see their lawyer. "I'm headed out guys. Text me if we get a body and I'll meet you there," Kate told them and emptied her drawer. "We've got your back Beckett. Take all the time you need," Espo answered and watched Ryan nod in agreement. "Thanks guys." She knew she was lucky to have them as partners.

Traffic was a little heavy so she ended up being 10 minutes late since she refused to use her lights to get people to move out of her way.

It was an hour later. Kate was sitting in her car still holding the large vanilla envelope their lawyer had given her. She just sat there in shock then started chuckling since there didn't seem to be anything else to do.

It was simply too stunning. Her mother hadn't said anything about it. But then again she barely talked at all anymore. It took all of Kate's concentration to remember what their lawyer had told her. Still it was enough to get her to drive to her bank since she was using her bank account to pay for everything. Her car was paid for and the newer one, with the outstanding loan, had been sold. The mortgage, which included insurance and property taxes, was being paid for out of her pay which was eating into her savings account. Housing in the city was _not_ inexpensive.

Kate was standing in line and waited until she had actually reached a teller before she signed her name on the two checks with a shaky hand. She handed over the checks and her deposit slip to the lady who looked at them twice. "Would you wait a moment please?" She didn't wait for Kate to say anything before locking her drawer and walking quickly away.

It took a few minutes but she was back with another woman in tow. This one was older and dressed a little more formally. "Ms. Beckett if I could see another form of ID please?" she asked standing in front of her with the teller a little bit behind her. "Is there a problem? I'm not taking much money out," Kate explained. She was only asking for $100 in small bills, a mere fraction of the amount of money she was putting into her account.

"We don't usually see checks in these amounts, even cashier's checks. We just need to be sure you're you. If you would please?" she asked again. "Sure." So Kate handed over her driver's license, her credit card that was bleeding red, her department photo ID, and included her NYPD detective's badge.

The woman took all of it, looked it over, then signaled to the teller to complete the transaction. "Thank you Detective Beckett. I noticed one of the checks was from a life insurance company. You have my deepest condolences." She handed Kate her ID, credit card, and badge back and let the teller do her job.

Kate was back in her car when she got a text from Espo; they had had a body drop and the text gave the address. She took the receipt for the deposit, looked at it one last time, and stuffed it into her bra. There was no way in hell she was losing it.

First check - $1.425 million. From her father's insurance company. A payout from his life insurance policy. Her mother had the same coverage. Their lawyer had had to sign a receipt for its delivery.

Second check - $425,455. It was the settlement check from the man who had run down her father in a traffic accident. He had wanted to avoid a court fight at all costs. While Kate wanted him to rot in prison for the rest of his life, a little voice in her head told her to take the settlement.

$1.85 million for the life of her father. She wanted to tell them they could keep their damn money, she just wanted her father back. It almost felt like blood money. But it gave Kate hope that she could use it to get her mother out of her shell and move on to the next stage of grief that she herself wasn't all that far along in the process. Still there was a voice in the back of her head that told her better times were coming. She just wished she could believe the voice. Plus the voice was new and had started only after they found out her father was dead.

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"Alexis?" Rick gave a light knock on her bedroom door before opening it. His little girl was 5 years old going on 6, or maybe sometimes more accurately, 30 sometimes.

He found her sitting on her bed, her room filled with boxes, much like the rest of the loft including his own bedroom. "What's wrong pumpkin?" His daughter was half dressed in the clothes he had left out on her bed and her shoes were lying on the floor.

Rick got down on his knees and it was only then that he saw that she had been crying. "Alexis, sweetie, please tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I can't fix it if I don't know what the matter is." She sniffled and wiped her nose. "I'm going to be teased in the new school," she whispered. Rick's heart broke as he engulfed his daughter in an award winning bear hug.

"Oh pumpkin, I'm so sorry." He was ready to start crying with her. How he had let Gina and Paula talk him into being a playboy that bedded any single woman that stepped in front of him escaped him now. He had listened to their tale about how it would increase book sales from women in a target age group. It didn't hurt that he had women showing up at his book signings that either Gina or Paula would set up for him. He had even stupidly gotten intoxicated by all flattery from the women that Gina set him up with at all of the parties she sent him to.

All of that ended the very first day his daughter had come home from school where some of the other kids had teased her about what their parents said about him had been the turning point. That one fateful day when he gotten a phone call from her school. Alexis had gotten into a fight defending her father's honor. Rick had driven over, picked her up from school, and listened to his daughter cry herself to sleep that night.

He had been the cause of it and it broke him. He wasn't Richard Castle anymore. Maybe he had ignored who he really was for far too long. He had thought coming to New York City would change him. Perhaps he was wrong all along. He, too, had cried himself to sleep that same night for what he had done to his daughter. Alexis was the most precious jewel of his heart. There literally was no one more important to him.

"No one is going to know who you and I are when we get there. I promise, you will not be teased again. You'll get to make some friends. You can invite them over for play dates and tea parties. Invite them over for your 6th year birthday party," Rick told her.

Alexis sniffled and gave him the barest hint of a smile. "Promise?" Her daddy never went back on his promises. "I promise. It's all going to be different." He was going to do everything he could to make sure he kept that promise. "Hey, maybe we could even get a dog. Would you like that sweetheart?"

Rick had actually thought about getting one here in the loft, but it didn't seem right somehow. A dog needed space to run in, something that was in short supply in their part of the city. Alexis instantly perked up. "Really?" Maybe, just maybe, things would be different in their new home. "Yes, really."

Rick lightened up, happy that he had reached his daughter and started tickling her, getting her to laugh. "Now let's get you dressed and put your shoes on. I have one final meeting at Black Pawn to attend and you're coming with me. Then we're going to come home and finish packing for the movers tomorrow. After that we're going to the airport and fly to our new home," Rick said and helped her get dressed.

"I can do it daddy." Alexis took exception to having him put her shoes on. There weren't any laces for her to tie so putting them on was easy for her. Rick lifted up his hands. "Sorry." He grinned and let her put her shoes on by herself.

Rick had sold both his Mercedes and his Land Rover. Even his precious Ferrari was gone; it had been the hardest to part with. The loft had been sold and a cleaning crew was coming in after the movers to remove any trace that they had ever lived there. Even the house in the Hamptons had been sold and another moving company had already boxed up everything save for the furniture and placed it in a Pod that was scheduled to arrive at their new home the same day as the moving company with everything from the loft, including the furniture. He had also sold the other two buildings that he owned in New York City.

The deed to their new home was under his new name making it hard for anyone to follow them. It wasn't finished yet but it was complete enough for them to move into. They would have to put up with the construction crew for a while yet, however the contractor had promised that their house would be done before the first snow which was in just about 3 short months.

Rick had arranged for a car service to take them to the office of Black Pawn. "I'm Rick and I have a meeting with Gina Cowell at 11:00 am." He didn't want to confuse Alexis by using the name _Castle_ since he had been spending a lot of his time trying to get Alexis used to her new last name.

"Just one moment, please," the receptionist told him and picked up the phone. "You can go into the conference room; it's down that hallway through the first door on the left. They're expecting you." Rick tried to keep his poker face but it was a struggle. THEY!? He thought only Gina was attending. This did not bode well.

Rick went into the conference room and found Gina, Paula, and three men, all of whom were wearing suits. One of them Rick recognized. He was the CEO of Black Pawn. Rick was furious at what was shaping up to be an ambush.

"Richard!" The CEO was happy to see him. He stepped and took his hand, a hand that Rick hadn't offered, and he shook it with both hands. "I heard through the grapevine about this meeting and just had to stop by to offer my hope that you will stay with us. I have somewhere I need to be or I would stay and make sure all your needs are met. However I'm sure Gina will take good care of you. Your books have been good for Black Pawn, it'll be good to keep you in the fold here." And he took Rick's hand that Rick still hadn't offered and shook it again then walked out.

"Richard, perhaps the receptionist can look after your daughter during our meeting," Gina suggested. "Alexis stays with me. Besides we won't be here long. I promised her pizza at her favorite place and I'm not letting her down…again." Rick growled the last word showing Gina and the others just how displeased he was with them.

"Fine!" she snapped as she sat down and the others followed with Rick and Alexis being last, seated close to the door. "We asked you here to work out a plan for a new contract for another set of books," Gina began. Rick interrupted her. "I presume you didn't get my letter that my lawyer sent you? He sent it as signature required, meaning that you personally had to sign for it," he practically snarled. "I did and dismissed it. We have a well-established working relationship Richard, one that doesn't need to end," Gina responded. "Then we have nothing left to discuss," Rick said as he started to rise and collect Alexis then head out for lunch.

"What changed Richard? Everything was going so well. Your name is popular and you are constantly in the papers or talked about on TV," Paula remarked. "That's exactly the problem. The exposure I get is not that of a family man. In fact it's the exact opposite," Rick said angrily, looking at Paula who was unfazed. "Your image is what helps sell books Richard, and I don't remember you complaining." Actually Paula remembered the exact opposite.

"Things change. I'm done with your playboy image and if that's all you two have to offer, I'm done with you as well!" Rick shocked them. Paula and the men in suits look stunned while Gina looked angry. "Let's go pumpkin, we're leaving." Rick stood and reached for Alexis's hand.

"Richard stop! Think of the money you're throwing away!" Gina implored. "Your money isn't worth the loss of my daughter. You and your image are costing me just that. I have all the money I will ever really need to live my life and raise my daughter," Rick said as he took Alexis's hand and started to leave.

"You should never have had her in the first place," Paula said brusquely. She was extremely blunt, not shy or bashful in the slightest. Rick had never been so furious in his life. **"YOU'RE FIRED!** That goes for you too." He turned on Gina.

"Go ahead and sit there and compete with each other over who's the biggest ice princess and who's the most callous and cold-blooded of anyone else on the planet. However you are going to do it without my input or contribution. Let's go pumpkin." Rick held Alexis's hand and started walking out the conference room door.

"Richard!?" Gina said, trying to regain control but Rick interrupted her again. "Good luck keeping your jobs," he tossed back over his shoulder. Meaning that the CEO of Black Pawn was likely to fire Gina and the two suits that hadn't said a word, at least Rick hoped he would.

He was finally outside. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and found Alexis looking up at him. Her face told him that she was scared? Concerned? Confused? Some combination perhaps.

Rick put on the best smile he could. "Pizza?" he asked with as much lightness in his voice that he could manage as he watched Alexis finally smile and nod enthusiastically.

He started to flag down a taxi just when his phone signaled that he had a new text. Rick took a quick look. _'You'll be back.'_ It was from Gina which instantly darkened his mood. He opened the back of his phone, pulled out the battery, and threw it one way, while the SIM card went another and landed in the gutter where it would go down the storm drain at the first rain. The rest of his phone shattered beneath his heel where he left its pieces on the sidewalk. Rick put his hand back up and got Alexis into a taxi. "Daddy?" Alexis had watched his mood change in an instant.

"I'm fine sweetie. I just wanted to get one of those new iPhones and now I have an excuse to get one." Rick smiled at her which finally got her to smile back at him. He knew Alexis was too smart to buy all of that and could likely read his body language so he did his best to remain upbeat as he could during lunch. He did his very best to get Alexis to talk and giggle as much as possible.

It was only while waiting outside the ladies room for Alexis to pee on her own, because she was a "big girl now," that it occurred to Rick that he also needed a new number with his new phone. Then it hit him - given where they were moving to it was probably better to get a satellite phone instead of a cell phone. He wouldn't need to worry about bad cell reception with a satellite phone.

Note to self: research the best satellite phone to purchase and what satellite plans were available. Well, there was no time like the present. Fortunately he knew just where to go to get the phone and hoped they had plans available. The land line at the loft was already disconnected and with no cell phone, he had no way to get help in the event of an emergency.

Ninety minutes later Rick walked out of the store with an Iridium Extreme 9575 with a monthly plan and a global SIM card. He had 1,000 minutes per month with a 2 year plan. The phone was $1,295 and the SIM card, $1,449.

"The battery life isn't the greatest so it pays to always have a spare, already charged battery handy. Keep in mind that the phone works best if it has an open sky line to one of the 66 low earth satellites. Meaning don't expect to get a signal while on an underground subway. Also Iridium is the most reliable network. It's because of them that the general public can afford satellite phones. Otherwise you would need to be one of the Fortune 100 companies or a government to afford to use one," the sales rep had told him.

It was actually perfect for where they were moving. There were no underground anythings where they were going. Plus cell phone coverage just might be rather spotty.


	2. Chapter 2

**CH2**

Kate snapped out of it in her car. "Get it together Kate," she chastised herself. She started the car, drove to the precinct, and was just walking into the bullpen when it suddenly occurred to her that Espo had texted her the address of a body drop. "Damn it!" She was really losing it. "I'm going to get someone killed if I keep this up." Kate reached a conclusion and a decision.

She knocked on the door frame of Montgomery's office. "Got a minute sir?"

"What have you got Beckett?" Montgomery knew Esposito and Ryan had gotten a call to a body drop. "I was thinking it might actually be a good idea if I took a few days off. Maybe 2 or 3 days if that's alright?" She didn't want to even take two days off, but she needed to get her head straight before she got someone hurt or worse, killed. Plus it would destroy her if it was one of the guys. And right now she feared it could be.

"It's about time Beckett. I thought you were never going to come to your senses. Take the week off. I don't want to see you in here again until Tuesday morning," Roy told her."Sir, I was just thinking of 2…" Kate's voice trailed off as Roy interrupted her. "Take the week Beckett or I'll make it a month. Your choice. What's it going to be? One week or one month?" He glared at her. "One week it is, sir," she relented since one month might as well be a lifetime. "I thought you'd come to your senses. Remember, don't come back in here until Tuesday morning or I'll default your time off to a month. Now get out of my office and go home!"

Kate drove home on auto-pilot even if home was now her parents' place. She'd done it often enough that auto-pilot actually worked. She parked and woke-up, so to speak, and sighed. She really didn't have any idea how she'd gotten home. "I'm in so much trouble," she moaned and hung her head.

Unlocking the front door, she found her mother seated at the dining room table in her pajamas. Her hair was still wet so she had likely just gotten out of the shower. She looked to be sipping a cup of tea. Kate turned on the coffee maker which made barely tolerable coffee and sat down in front of her mother. "Hi Mom, how are you?"

"I…I don't really know anymore Katie. The hole in my heart is just too big. I'm too old to go dating again and I don't want to. Your father was my one and done," Johanna sighed. "I'm not asking you to Mom. I miss him too you know. You're not the only one hurting. …I'm even having trouble concentrating at work. Espo texted me the address to a body drop this morning and I forgot all about it. I'm not even sure how I drove home," Kate admitted.

"OH no, Katie! You got fired?" Johanna was suddenly awake and listening. "No Mom, no. I'm fine. Well, maybe not fine." She couldn't bear the look on her mother's face. "I asked for a couple of days off and my boss told me to take the entire week off. He threatened to make it a month if I didn't accept the entire week. I'm not supposed to set foot in the precinct until Tuesday morning." She didn't like being banished. She also didn't have a clue what she was going to do for an entire week, so she asked her mom for ideas.

"You know, you could go on a date," Johanna suggested. "MOM!" Kate exclaimed. She refused, complaining about her mother's choice of what to do. "I'm just saying. The last man that I knew you were dating was Sorenson," Johanna mentioned. Kate all but collapsed in on herself. "Ugh," she groaned. "Do not even mention his name! I don't know what I ever saw in him," she was forced to admit. Will Sorenson was yet another poor choice of boyfriend or potential boyfriend.

"I thought you liked him. You did date him for a while," Johanna pointed out. "Please don't remind me Mom. The guy was a self-absorbed jerk. Flat faced, flat jawed, flat headed." Kate suddenly realized she had just spoken her mind and her filter hadn't stopped her. Johanna simply stared at her, not sure she had ever heard her daughter talk that way before.

"Since I have the week off we should go out and have some fun. Maybe see a movie or go out to eat someplace nice. Perhaps go to the top of the Statue of Liberty," she said, rattling off a short list of things to do. "I'm sorry Katie, but there just isn't anything in this city that I want to see. I grew up here, you know, and your father took me almost everywhere while we were dating. There isn't much left to see." Suddenly Johanna sounded sad and weary again. "I'm going to go back to bed." She got up and shuffled down the hall to the master suite.

Kate was too taken back by her mother being so sad about remembering her father that she couldn't get her mouth to work fast enough to stop her. She pulled the bank receipt out of her bra and looked at it again. Was $1.8 million enough to make her mother happy again? Just how was she going to accomplish that? How did she use money to make a person happy?

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Rick was doing everything he could think of to keep his daughter entertained on their flight out of New York in first class seats. His mind wasn't on his next book or who was going to publish it. Nor was it on his old life at all. They had a new name and a new home waiting for them. However they had to get there first; he couldn't remember ever traveling this far with his daughter. A number of stops were likely in their future. Stops for bathroom breaks, for coffee to stay awake, and of course, for gas. And that was _after_ he bought a car, truck, or SUV.

They had to change planes in Chicago and had a 2 hour layover there. Rick used the time to get Alexis into the restroom and to stop and get them something to eat. He tried to talk her into something that looked like Chinese but there was a pizza place right next to the Chinese restaurant. He ended up being dragged over to the pizza place.

Finally landing in Rapid City, they took a taxi to The Cambria Hotel and Suites where they were spending the night. It was a simple enough hotel but it was also one of the few where he could get a two bedroom suite so Alexis would have her own room. After finding somewhere to eat dinner, Rick pulled out one of the games he had brought with him. They played it on the coffee table in the living room area of their room until Alexis's bedtime. "Good night pumpkin, I love you." He tucked her into bed. "Love you too, Daddy," Alexis responded and got her goodnight kiss.

He stayed up and watched a little TV while going over his notes on what was going to happen tomorrow. They had a lot to do as well as a 1-1/2 hour drive to the town closest to their new home. He would also need to stop at the elementary school and get Alexis registered since school was starting in just a few weeks. Rick finally went to bed and was just starting to get drowsy after getting his mind to finally quiet down.

"Daddy?" He lifted his head and saw Alexis standing next to his bed clutching her most precious treasure on the planet. "What's wrong?" Rick turned over to look at her. "Lonely," she whispered. Both bedrooms had king-sized beds; her bed at home was only a twin. There was just too much space, plus it wasn't her bed, or her room. He lifted up the covers. "Come on in." And he watched Alexis climb onto his bed and cuddle up close while clutching her precious Monkey-Bunky.

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Filled with breakfast and all packed up, Rick and Alexis took a taxi to the local FORD dealership. Two hours later they were driving off the lot in a brand new 2001 Ford F-350 Lariat AWD/4WD, crew cab dually with two-toned paint. It was dark burgundy with a wide tan stripe down each side. It was a 5.1 litre V8 short bed. The truck came with a towing package that had a trailer hitch and light connection already installed. It came with a number of options thanks to the Lariat package. Rick took the flat bed cover that was dealer installed. The dealer had just gotten his first load of next year's trucks and this was the only 2001 F-350 that he had.

The interior was a little bland for his taste but he could work on that later. He had been asked if he had any plans on towing a camping trailer and saw his daughter's eyes light up at that, so the answer became yes. The salesman explained the automatic transmission and rear differential to Rick so that he knew just how big of a trailer he could tow. He was advised to buy one that had a braking system that could be plugged into the brake connection that was already installed.

Rick chose the tire package that was between highway and off-road. It made the ride a little bumpier than what he was used to, however Newcastle, Wyoming routinely got a lot of snow so the tire package and the dually seemed like a no-brainer. Plus its size gave him much needed room. He always felt like he was shoe-horning himself into his precious Ferrari. He wasn't fat by any means. His work-out schedule prevented that, but he was a big man and he ate a lot normally, most of which got burned off when exercising. Still he was just short of 6' 5" at 258 pounds and this truck gave him space.

He had plugged in his portable GPS unit and was bringing up the address he'd already pre-programmed into it then pressed GO. "Know where we're going next?" Rick asked as he looked over at Alexis who was buckled into the child's booster seat on the rear passenger seat.

Alexis only shook her head. "We're going to go find you a puppy," Rick informed her since he had made a number of phone calls and done a lot of research. She practically lit up with joy as she started bouncing up and down while smiling wide. It was the first true wide smile he had seen on his daughter since they had started this trip.

Their destination turned out to be a farm that doubled as a local breeder. "I'm Rick Rodgers and this is Alexis. We spoke on the phone," he said to the woman who greeted them along with her 7-year-old daughter who was right next to her. "Jennie, please take Alexis to see the puppies while I work on the paperwork," she told her daughter. "Okay!" Alexis followed Jennie through the house and out into the backyard.

"As I told you on the phone, the puppies have already had their tails cropped and their ears have been altered. They've healed nicely. I have a copy of all of his vet visits for you and I'm going to give him a shot before he leaves. You'll need to take him to your vet in 2 weeks for his final puppy shot and then take him in for his rabies shot as your vet instructs you. It's all on the papers that I have for you." She spoke to Rick as they moved to the dining room table where the paperwork was located.

"All of our puppies are very happy and my daughter has spent time playing with them for weeks so they're used to children," she explained. They were soon out on the large back porch watching Alexis and her daughter inside one of the enclosures with a single puppy that was all over Alexis who was giggling her like mad as she tried to keep up with him. "It looks like someone else wants in on the action," Rick pointed out as he saw another puppy that had escaped from the other enclosure and was running round and round the one the girls and the single puppy were in.

"The one your daughter is having fun with is Midas. He's the one that we talked about and that I sent you pictures of. The one outside the enclosure is his litter mate, Maggie. The two of them have been all but inseparable since they were born. I don't suppose you would be interested in her too? I'd be happy to lower the price by $100. The people who were going to purchase her backed out yesterday," the breeder told Rick. $4,300 instead of $2,200.

"JENNIE! Would you put Maggie inside with you, please?" she yelled to her daughter who stepped outside to collect Maggie then stepped back inside and released her. He watched as the puppies played with each other and as they ganged-up on Alexis while paying a little attention to the breeder's daughter.

It was an hour later and they were leaving the farm. Rick had a little bit of both the dry and canned food that the breeder had been feeding her puppies, as well as all of the paperwork for them. Alexis was behind him giggling away as the puppies tumbled all over her. Rick grinned, keeping one eye on the road and one eye on his rear view mirror. Their next stop was already on his GPS. It was a pet store.

"You stay here with Midas and Maggie while I go shopping. Do not get out of the truck and do not open the doors for anyone but me. Understand?" Rick locked her in the truck with both windows cracked open 5 inches or so.

He filled two carts with puppy paraphernalia, paid for everything, and then hauled it out to the parking lot where he dumped it all into the bed of his truck. He had 4 beds, 4-50 pound bags of dry puppy dog food, 4 cases of canned dog food, every pig ear the store had, two collars that he hoped would fit properly, 2 retractable leashes, 2 regular leashes, Advantage Flea and Tick Protection for puppies, one package of 24 puppy pee pads, 2 packages of 6 puppy poop bags used to pick it up with, 4 tennis balls, 2 Frisbees, 2 food bowls and 2 automatic water dispensers that each held a quart of water in a refillable holder, 2 bottles of shampoo, 6 squeaky plush stuffed toys, two tags with their names on them, and 2 extra-large metal bar kennels. He also found a hot water bottle with a built-in clock that would make a tick-tock sound. It was advertised to help puppies sleep away from their mother.

Rick kept the collars and the non-retractable leashes out and handed them to Alexis. "Try and put the collars on your puppies. We need to stop before we get home and let them out so they can pee and poop," he told her.

They were just entering the town closest to their new home and Rick drove straight to the elementary school to get Alexis registered. By now the puppies were curled up on each other sleeping. "We'll leave Midas and Maggie in the truck, we have to get you entered into school," he said and closed the door softly so as not to wake up the puppies.

Newcastle Elementary was not near the middle or high schools which were located next to each other. Alexis would probably attend both of them but that was still years away. They had a quick meeting with Principal Brandy Holmes then they were back out at the truck with still more paperwork for Rick to look over and a school supplies shopping list to take care of. Alexis's first class was in 3 weeks.

Their furniture wasn't scheduled to show up until the day after tomorrow, which meant spending the next two days in a hotel room. Rick had gotten lucky and had booked the one triple room that the Pines Motel had. It had a living room with a fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen, and a bedroom that had a queen-sized bed and two twin beds. After unloading their luggage and some of the puppies' stuff, Rick set up one of the kennels and put the still sleeping puppies inside.

It was time for their next trip - grocery shopping! "Hey look, they have pizza," he pointed out as he drove to the grocery store. It was the Pizza Barn which happened to look like a barn that was about the size of two smaller barns combined. Just knowing that there was a pizza place made Alexis happy. They both checked out what was in town on their way to the grocery. Rick had gotten the address of the grocery store from the phone directory in their room and entered it into his GPS. It was a short trip to the store and they pulled in to go shopping. The place was half empty! "Are you going out of business?" he asked the cashier. "Oh no, it's always like this in summer. You must be new here," she replied. "We're just moving in. We're about another 20 minutes outside of town," Rick said. "Really! Is that log home up north on 85 yours? Everyone in town is dying to see who's building that place. It's nice! I think everyone in town has been out to look at it," she gushed over the home Rick had begun building over a year ago. "Yeah, it's ours. I'm Rick Rodgers and this is Alexis. We just got her enrolled in the elementary school," he told her.

"Well, just so you know, we're half-empty for about half the year. Then just before the first snow fall, we get filled up to overflowing. In fact there will be a freezer trailer outside filled mostly with cow halves hanging on hooks. Everyone comes into town and empties the place to fill up their freezers and pantries. Out here it's possible that you'll get snowed in and have to rely on what you have on hand at home. Once we're empty it gets filled up to about what it is now for the rest of winter into late spring and early summer, only to do it all over again. The local butcher gets a lot of work. I hope you're ready for it," she warned him.

"We should be. The house has solar hot water, a few solar panels and a windmill for a little power. Those last two are supposed to serve the freezers. There are two upright freezers not counting the one in the kitchen. There's also a generator that runs off a propane tank that holds 1,000 gallons. It only serves emergency lights, the freezers and the blower on the pellet stove." Rick had done his homework. She looked impressed. "Sounds like you're all set then," the cashier remarked as he paid the bill. "Looks like we'll be seeing you later," he replied since it sounded like he was going to need to fill his truck maybe twice over with groceries soon. "It's a small town, you'll be seeing everyone soon," she said, smiling at him.

Rick was back at their hotel room unloading their groceries when the puppies woke up. "Time to take them outside to pee so they don't make a mess inside," he told Alexis and they were both soon outside with a puppy each, walking around in the grass.

He was cooking dinner while Alexis played with her puppies. She found out quickly that the tennis balls were too big for their mouths though they did manage to hold onto one a little by the fuzz on the ball itself. They did, however, love the squeaky plush toys though they would chase the ball if she didn't roll it too far or too fast. They just didn't come back with it. Not that they always came back with the plush toys either.

"Dinnertime for your puppies," he announced and handed her one bowl at a time filled with a tiny amount of canned food and a lot of dry puppy food. Dinnertime was followed by another potty trip outside.

It was another two days before they packed everything up and headed north on US85 to look for the turn-off that would lead to their new home.


	3. Chapter 3

**CH3**

Not sure what the problem is, but the site won't let me answer any of the reviews. It comes back as "Unable to find the review you have selected." I can't read any of them either. I promise I'm not avoiding any of you, just that it seems i don't have a choice.

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Kate watched her mother shuffle into the eat-in kitchen and accept the cup of hot tea that Kate put on the table in front of her. "How do you feel Mom?" She didn't know just how to tell her mother what she had thought of. But first she needed a few more answers.

"I'm a little tired actually." Her shoulders were slumped and there was no fire in her eyes. Kate kind of understood why but didn't completely get it. Her mother had just gotten up after sleeping all night and most of the day before. And she had lost so much body weight she most likely didn't have much strength. Kate put a plate that had 2 strips of bacon, an egg over easy, a link of sausage, a piece of toast with raspberry jam on it, followed by a glass of orange juice and a small glass of milk.

"When did we get this?" Johanna looked at the food in front of her and actually picked up a piece of bacon. She pushed all of it into her mouth and started chewing. "I went shopping last night. I have makings for sandwiches for lunch too. I even have a couple of steaks for dinner later. We can cook them out on the grill maybe. Or we can make kabobs," Kate offered and watched as her mother stuffed her mouth with the last piece of bacon so Kate put her two pieces on her mom's plate. "You trying to fatten me up?" Johanna asked, teasing, not really paying attention to the fact that she hasn't been eating and had lost weight.

"You didn't seem to like the cereal or oatmeal," Kate said and put her sausage link on her mother's plate and watched as she cut them both into smaller pieces. Meanwhile Kate decided her egg would go on her mother's plate too once Johanna started eating hers, along with her slice of toast.

She got out a bowl, poured out some Raisin Bran, and poured milk over it all. She sat down across from her mother and began eating. "We could go to the museum or maybe the zoo?" Kate suggested and immediately wished she had kept her mouth shut because her mother put her fork down and stopped eating. She had only eaten 4 strips of bacon and a sausage link. She hadn't touched anything else. Not even the drinks. "Please Mom. You need to get out into the sun and get some fresh air."

"I'm not really interested Katie." Her only small victory was that her mother hadn't gotten up and gone back to bed after that.

"I've been thinking we should get out of the city. Go somewhere neither of us have ever been. Someplace with real sunshine and actual fresh air. It'll be good for us mom. Kind of like a mini fresh start. Recharge our batteries," Kate said. She watched her mother actually go back to eating. "Where?" It was now that Kate prayed mightily. It had to be a place neither of her parents had never gone. _'Please_ _D_ _ad let me choose the right place!'_ she prayed silently.

"I was thinking maybe Yellowstone or maybe Lake Tahoe," Kate proposed. "Jim and I never made it to Yellowstone. We started to make plans but something got in the way," Johanna said and started eating her egg. Kate all but collapsed in her chair. She had found something that interested her mother! "We could get a hotel room or maybe rent an RV and go where we want when we want. I've got an entire week off work," she reminded her mother, hoping for some direction from her. "I'm kind of old to go camping." Johanna shot the RV down. "Staying in an RV isn't really camping Mom. There are RVs that are almost as big as this place. They have these pull-outs on each side that add more living space. We could maybe even tow a trailer that has a couple little scooters on it for us to get around on," Kate countered.

"You just want to ride that motorcycle of yours again. I always feared your father was right and that you were going to kill yourself on that thing," Johanna commented. Kate smiled wide. Her mother was still eating _and_ she was talking more than she had for at least a week. "Funny Mom, very funny. I'll make the RV reservation and we can fly out tomorrow morning after we get you packed. It'll be fun! Sunshine, fresh air, do some sightseeing, maybe some shopppping?" Kate tried to entice her and decided not to wait. She gave up on her cereal and went looking for their laptop so she could make reservations for the flight and the RV.

Kate grinned as she bought first class tickets for both of them. NYC to Jackson Hole turned out to be not that difficult or that expensive. Well, that was only partly true. Before getting $1.85 million she would never have spent this kind of money. Now she needed an RV and scooters if that was even possible.

 _ **Outlaw class A motorhome made by Thor.**_ It was 38 feet long and had two pull-outs and two beds. One was a queen-size Murphy bed. The other bed was a full-size on the level above the garage where they could store their two scooters. There was a simple enough kitchen with a full-size refrigerator next to the pull-out on the other side that housed the dinette. The RV had a 6.8 litre V10 engine that ran on gasoline which probably got terrible gas mileage. It had an 85 gallon gas tank and a 100 gallon tank for fresh water and came with a generator so they could park wherever they pleased and didn't need an electric hook-up each day. It was actually less expensive than the airfare.

She reserved a Yamaha Zuma F50 for each of them. They just had to drive the RV over to the motorcycle and scooter rental to pick them up and tie them down in the back.

Kate printed out each of the sheets so she had proof of her reservations and went back to the table where her mother still was and was drinking hot tea. "Here are our reservations for the RV, the scooters we're going to rent, and our airline boarding passes for tomorrow. The RV has a generator so we can park anywhere we want and we have 5 days to travel around Yellowstone before flying home." Kate was smiling wide and it didn't hurt that her mother was paying attention and looked interested.

"Can we afford this?" Johanna was actually involved enough to ask a question. "I went to see our lawyer yesterday. We got the check from Dad's life insurance policy and the settlement check from the man who ran him down. We have more than enough money to do anything we want Mom. We can go anywhere we want," Kate informed her.

Johanna now understood just how much money they now had. "You should use that money Katie. Go live your life. Finally meet someone nice and have a family."

Kate was beginning to get upset with her mother. "I'm not going anywhere without you and I don't want to hear another word about who uses the money because we both are! Dad wouldn't sit still if he knew you were just sitting here wasting away. He'd have a cow." Johanna opened her mouth to object. "Don't Mom, just don't. I've lost enough already. I'm not losing my mother too. We're going to go to Yellowstone and we're going to have fun." Kate got up and dumped her uneaten egg on her mother's plate. "Now eat because you need your strength." She stood over her mother until Johanna had finished eating both hers and Kate's breakfast.

"Go get dressed and start packing for a week. We need to fly tomorrow, pick up the motorhome, and our scooters then go to the grocery store since I, for one, have no intention of starving to death." Kate stomped to her room to start packing. But all she did was sit on her bed and worry that she had pushed her mother too far. She wiped away her tears. She had lost too much already and watching her mother waste away was killing her.

There was a knock on her door frame. "I'm sorry Katie," Johanna apologized. Kate jumped up off her bed and flew into her mother's arms as they held each other tight and they cried on each others shoulder.

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Johanna slept almost the entire flight. Kate only woke her up when they started serving first class something to eat. Just getting from the taxi through security and out to their gate had taken a lot out of her mother. She was more than willing to let her sleep.

Changing planes for their next flight turned out to be easy enough and they had 1-1/2 hours to accomplish it.

Kate left her mother at the door leading to the taxis while she collected all of their luggage. She broke down and got one of those carts to carry both of their bags and their carry-ons. A taxi ride took them to the motorhome rental lot and an associate walked them through everything: how to dump the waste tank, fill the fresh water tank, fill the gas tank, use the generator, set the hydraulic leveling system after they park, how to connect to an RV park's electrical system, and how to fill the propane tank. Since Kate was going to be the only one driving, he took her through the parking lot so she got used to the size. He showed her how to set the mirrors and read all of the gauges in the driver's space.

He moved inside and showed them how to get the pull-outs to deploy and how to pull down the Murphy bed. And also where to secure any toys they planned on renting. They had to add rental of the tie downs after Kate told him about the scooters they were going to rent next. Then he went through the kitchen and showed them where everything was. It came fully equipped for them to start cooking immediately.

Kate signed all of the papers and they were soon sitting in their chairs looking out the front window. "It's really big Katie, you sure you can handle this?" Johanna asked. "It's a piece of cake Mom." She checked her side mirrors and started it up, checked all of her gauges, put in the address for the scooter rental into their portable GPS unit that Kate had bought the day before, then pulled out of the lot. ...Ever so slowly.

She parked on the street since there was nowhere to park at the scooter rental. The man who rented them the scooters after showing them how to use them and Kate signed for everything, even helped them secure the scooters in the garage area of their RV. "Nice looking toy hauler." He liked it a lot.

Their next stop was the closest grocery store where Kate parked out in the north 40 taking up several spaces. "Stay here Mom. I'll be back in a little while." She didn't want her mother slowing her down, or have her use up her strength. She returned with a single grocery cart filled to overflowing. "Did you buy the entire store?" Johanna teased. "We needed everything. From salt and pepper to produce, steaks, chicken and fish, and everything in-between. I only hope I got all the spices we need."

Kate put in the address for their first night's stay and began driving while Johanna put everything away. "Cajun spice?" Johanna held it up to look at it, but put it away with the others. They had canned and frozen vegetables as well as a few fresh fruits including a whole pineapple. Kate had bought a yellow onion, a white onion, a red onion, scallions, snap green beans, 4 different colored bell peppers, asparagus, and romaine lettuce hearts. Johanna simply shook her head and put the rest of it away before joining her in her seat up front.

"How'd I do?" Kate was positive she had overdone it. However she was also pretty sure they weren't going to see another grocery store before they left. "You did fine Katie, just fine. I'm not sure what we're going to do with what's left over after our trip though." Johanna knew that much. "Well they didn't have pinches of this and pinches of that. Maybe some of it can go in our bag for the trip home. The rest will just go in the trash I suppose, unless the RV rental staff wants it," Kate replied.

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The Madison Campground was first on her list of stops. It didn't have any RV hookups so they would have to use their own water and turn on the generator.

 _This campground is located near the confluence of the spectacular Gibbon and Firehole Rivers, which form the Madison River. The Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon Rivers are considered world-class fly-fishing destinations. With sites shaded by lodgepole pine, Madison Campground is about 14 miles from the town of West Yellowstone and 16 miles north of Old Faithful._

 _Each campsite has a picnic table and fire pit with grate. Restroom facilities are equipped with flush toilets and sinks with running water. Drinking water is available from faucets around the campground._

They were warned they could only use their generator between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm which meant the refrigerator was going to have to run off propane. The campground did, however, have a dump station they could use. Firewood for the fire pit was available in the general store along with a small number of other things.

Johanna got out and guided Kate to back up into their campsite after Kate went inside and bought enough wood for hopefully 2 or 3 hours since they had a fire pit, wood, and a grate that Johanna scrapped clean. "We can grill 2 of our steaks, bake a couple potatoes, and grill some asparagus," Johanna offered. Kate liked the idea since it meant they didn't have to use up any of their propane. It also meant eating late since they only had just so much wood.

Kate set up the campsite while Johanna cooked. The RV came with 4 folding chairs and a folding table in one of the storage spaces. "I didn't buy any trash bags," Kate moaned as she deflated. "We can use the plastic bags the groceries came in. It'll be good enough," Johanna soothed.

"You're still a good cook Mom." Kate was wolfing her food down. It was home cooked instead of takeout for a change. "If you had paid attention you would be good too," Johanna chastised her. "I grew up in New York. You can literally get anything delivered there. Why would I want to cook?" She tried defending herself only to see her mother glare at her. "Okay, okay! You were right. Happy now?" she grumbled. "And don't say I told you so," she added as soon as her mother opened her mouth to speak but she closed it after hearing what Katie said.

"What we are we doing tomorrow?" Johanna asked. "I was thinking we could go south to see Old Faithful using our scooters. We could park really close in the motorcycle parking area. It's only 16 miles from here," Kate remarked. Johanna silently prayed that she was up to riding one of those things. Kate got them a glass of wine and they sat outside the rest of the night watching the stars and staring at the fire. She took the bed above the garage while Johanna took the Murphy bed.

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Johanna had her helmet on and rode her scooter right next to Kate's all the way to Old Faithful. Kate turned out to be partially right. They did get to park way up front. Johanna took her helmet off and saw Kate's pleased smile. "We could have gotten here in the motorhome," Johanna said, gesturing at one of two huge parking lots that already had several motorhomes their size and even bigger. "Yeah, but this was so much more fun." Kate was still smiling. It wasn't like riding her Harley, but it was way better than trying to maneuver their behemoth around. Johanna decided to keep quiet since she feared it would remove the smile from her daughter's face.

They sat and waited for Old Faithful to erupt and then they started walking one of the paths to see another geyser. From there they walked down to Chinese Springs on their way to Old Faithful Inn. The Inn's lobby gave Johanna a place to sit down and rest while Kate went into their gift shop. She walked out with an Old Faithful baseball cap and something hidden behind her back. "A cap?" Johanna questioned. "It's for Dad. This, however, is for you." And Kate whipped a stuffed moose head complete with antlers from behind her back. It was a child's stuffed toy and it was as big as Johanna's head. Kate laughed at the look on her mother's face. "When I saw it I thought of you." She kept on laughing at her mother. Johanna found a little girl to give her moose head to on the way to their scooters for the ride back to the RV and the move to the next campground.

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 _ **Bay Bridge Campground**_

 _Bridge Bay Campground was named for its proximity to Bridge Bay Marina on Yellowstone Lake. The area is quite scenic, with wooded areas, open meadows and some limited views of the lake. Because of its location, the campground is popular with fishing and boating enthusiasts. The campground offers open sites with few trees or shadier options in the wooded upper loops of the campground. The location is within sight of the western shoreline of Yellowstone Lake, and at 7,800 feet in elevation._

The campground had drive-thru campsites which meant Johanna didn't have to get out and guide Kate backwards into their space. Still the site was much like the last one. Kate picked up more wood at the store at the main entrance along with some real trash bags and something else. "What are you planning on doing with those?" Johanna's eyes widened. "We're going fishing just like Dad taught us. And if by some miracle we actually catch something, we're going to prep it and cook it just like he taught us. Or we use what's in the refrigerator," Kate told her. She also pulled out a brochure she picked up. "There's a marina we can take our scooters to that has boat tours and boat rentals. I was thinking about us taking one of the boat tours. The next one is in about 1-1/2 hours," Kate said.

The next thing Johanna knew, they were in a large boat along with 9 other people. It even had restrooms and a bar. Johanna was sitting way up front enjoying the view while Kate got a drink and joined her.

They caught nothing of course. "I'm pretty sure your father told us to only fish first thing in the morning," Johanna pointed out. "Yeah, yeah," Kate grumbled as she prepped the fish they already had and put them on the fire while Johanna stayed in the motorhome making a salad, green beans, and garlic bread. After eating they spent the evening just like they had the night before, sitting drinking wine while looking at the stars and the fire. "You're still wearing that cap," Johanna remarked. "I'm keeping it warm for Dad," Kate replied as she stared at the fire.

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 _ **Grant Village Campground**_

 _Located on the southwest shore of Yellowstone Lake, the Grant Village Campground is situated at an elevation of approximately 7,800 feet in a lodgepole pine forest, just a few miles from the enchanting West Thumb Geyser Basin. This geyser basin is located on the shore of the lake, with an easily navigated boardwalk and trail system providing terrific views of the various hot springs and thermal features. The campground offers a relaxing setting with easy access to many services and amenities. Grant Village Campground is just over 40 miles from Colter Bay._

This campground also had drive-thru campsites so Johanna didn't have to get out and guide Kate backwards into this space either. There were no hook-ups so they, like the others, were on their own. Before parking they went a mile out of their way to fill the gas tank which almost caused Johanna to have a heart attack when she saw what it cost to fill the beast. Then they connected to a spigot to fill their water tank. They would empty their waste tank at the dump site on the way out of the campground.

Johanna put a picnic together for them so they could walk the boardwalk and see the lake and all of the scenic sights. "How you doing Mom?" Kate asked as they sat and ate their lunch. "I'm a bit tired actually. My feet hurt a little, and my calves have been burning lately," Johanna admitted. She had let herself go in her grief and was paying the price. "We can just sit and take in the view. We could even take our scooters over to the restaurant tonight if you don't want to cook," Kate suggested.

"Do we have enough propane to cook? We used up our firewood," Johanna pointed out. "I can take my scooter and go get some more. Actually I think I will anyway even if it's not to cook with. We need a fire to sit around tonight," Kate told her. "And our propane tank is about half full so we have enough since we only have one more campsite before turning everything back in and flying home." Johanna was silent for a while. "Do we have to? …Fly home I mean. It's nice out here. I haven't seen the stars for so long. There's no sirens, no smog, and you were right about the fresh air."

"We have the money to buy an even bigger motorhome if that is what you want. We could live traveling from one campground to another," Kate said. Johanna shook her head. "You have work Katie. I'm not asking you to quit your job," she countered. "You're more important than my job Mom. You always were," Kate told her. Johanna shook her head again. It was a sudden pipe dream that had no concrete foundation to build upon. "We can move out here somewhere. Get new jobs. Buy a motorhome just like this one and use it from time to time. Go somewhere, anywhere," Kate suddenly offered.

"You can't quit your job Katie, you've worked too hard to get where you are." Johanna told her. "Screw my job…" Kate was interrupted. "Katherine Houghton Beckett!" Johanna took exception to her language. "I'm being honest Mom. You obviously don't like New York City anymore so we need to move. You seem to like being out here. Surely we can find a home we both agree on somewhere. We can get jobs or start our own business. Buy new cars to handle the winters which are probably brutal here. We could buy this motorhome or something like it and drive it out to wherever we end up."

"We have the money Mom. Dad's gone and I can just hear what he's thinking about what we're doing right now." Kate tried to convince her since it looked like she had finally found something her mother was interested in. "Your father always did like that cabin we bought." Johanna was beginning to lean Kate's way. "And he fished in a pond that had no fish in it." Johanna chuckled at the memory.

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 _ **Colter Bay Village RV Park**_

 _Just a five-minute walk from Jackson Lake, the RV Park at Colter Bay Village allows you to experience the lake, forests, and many activities that Colter Bay Village offers. Wake up each morning surrounded by lush forests to the memorable sights and activities one can only experience in this Grand Teton RV resort._

 _The Scenic Lake Cruise on Jackson Lake or the Meal Cruises on Jackson Lake will literally place you in the shadow of Mount Moran. On the Scenic Lake Cruise you will have the opportunity to view 10,000 year old glacial water flowing in to Jackson Lake. On the Meal cruises you will have the opportunity to dine on your own private island while you will experience a cowboy meal unequaled in the Park. On both trips the entire way you will hear local history and folklore._

 _ **Lunch Cruise menu**_ _includes a delicious sack lunch including sandwich, fruit, chips, drinks. When you arrive to Elk Island you will be left to explore, or dine at the picnic area with panoramic views of the Teton Range._

Both Kate and Johanna were pretty tired considering all their activities of the past few days, so they took one of the Meal cruises. After they returned to the motorhome, they spent their time consolidating the remaining groceries and packing their suitcases in preparation for the flight home.

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The next day was a busy day of dropping off the scooters and the motorhome then going to the airport for the flight home. Johanna was awake for most of the flight but was completely silent so Kate left her to her thoughts. She already knew what she was going to do. Her mother was the only thing important to her at the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

**CH 4**

They had checked out of their hotel room and were pulling up in what passed for the driveway to their new home. It was still just a dirt road with a few rocks strewn about to try and compensate for the earlier rain that had turned it into a quagmire.

Rick looked around and saw there were contractors' trucks everywhere. The general contractor was here as well as contractors and their crews for electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Even the security system installer guy was here. "Looks busy," Rick commented as they both look outside.

The movers were nowhere in sight. "Put the leashes on your puppies and don't let go of them for any reason. I don't want them getting lost out here," Rick told Alexis who crawled into the back seat to attach the two leashes and waited for her dad to open the door. Rick and Alexis with puppies in tow were walking towards their new home. "It's big Daddy." Alexis was amazed at how much space they were going to have.

Every outside wall was made from logs making it a log home. They were parked just outside of what was the double car garage that was on the lower level. From here the front door was up a set of stairs that turned into a ramp before going back to a set of stairs before another ramp came to a large front patio area out front of the massive wood double doors that were the front door.

The front patio was covered by a log A frame structure. There were three windows on two levels above the garage. The center one on what was the second floor was actually a set of French doors that opened out onto a small patio. One of the front doors was open allowing them to enter the home. Just inside was a sweeping stair case on their right that led to the second floor. The area under the second floor had a wood ceiling with logs acting as beams.

In front of them was the large curved window area that was two stories tall and was all window from floor to roof with open beam logs and a wood ceiling. There were 8 windows on each level. To the left was a huge natural rock fireplace that was also two stories tall. It had a wood burning fireplace in the center and areas recessed into the rock to store wood for the fire. The mantle above it was one continuous slab of rock. Rick could already envision the Christmas stockings that would be hanging from it in a few months.

There was even space in front of the curved wall filled with windows for a massive Christmas tree. He was definitely going to need a ladder to hang all the decorations.

Walking inside they could see the staircase that went down under the one that went up. To their right was a large opening that would lead into the kitchen which is where Rick went next as they walked across cardboard that had been taped down to protect the beautiful wood floors that were everywhere on this level.

The kitchen was partially under the second floor so it had the same ceiling as the entrance did. The cabinets were in, however, none of the kitchen appliances had been installed. It was something Rick had already anticipated; his solution to the problem was scheduled to show up today. He was going to need to find the general contractor soon to confirm that the contractor could lay down a base of gravel just outside of the garage doors to accommodate Rick's solution.

The granite countertop along with the island and stone backsplash was also missing. So far all of the windows still had all of their stickers showing the manufacturer: Anderson.

Rick was taking Alexis and her puppies back out into the living room and could see the dining room directly across the way. He also noticed that the western-style wrought iron chandelier hadn't been hung yet

"You must be the Rodgers," remarked the contractor. Rick recognized the general contractor coming through the front door. "I must have just missed you." He offered his hand to Rick who shook it.

"It's good to finally meet you. This is my daughter Alexis. I wanted to talk with you about the gravel at the garage entrance," Rick began. "Not a problem. I've got two trucks scheduled to deliver it in about..." He looked at his watch. "About 30 minutes actually. We'll have it all compacted and level for your trailer in time for its arrival. I've got everyone upstairs working on the bedrooms and bathrooms at the moment. From there we'll work our way down. The last room to be finished will be the weight and game room downstairs."

"What do you think? You wouldn't believe how many townspeople have been out here to gawk at it," he mentioned. "So I've heard. We got here a couple of days ago and stayed in a hotel room. It had a kitchen so I went shopping where I learned a lot," Rick told him.

"That's a small town for you, better get used to it. Everyone's going to want to know what everyone else is doing and if you don't tell them they'll just spy on you. It's all harmless. It's just that everyone is a neighbor no matter how far away they actually live," the contractor said.

"I trust you're still on schedule?" Rick asked. "Right now we're probably a day or two behind schedule. We had a very heavy downpour a few weeks ago that was unexpected but we've mostly caught up from that delay," was his response.

"The pods holding all of my furniture are supposed to show up sometime today as well." Rick informed him. "We'll be ready. They'll go right next to your trailer until you're ready to unload them. I've even got some tarps ready to cover them to keep the rain out in case one or more of them have a leak." Rick was impressed. This guy really was on the ball. "We'll get out of your hair and wait outside for everything to show up," Rick advised him."That'll be fine. Most everyone will be here long after the sun goes down working. Oh, the absolute last thing to be installed will be the blacktop driveway after the intricate pavers are installed at the garage entrance after your trailer is gone," he explained. It sounded to Rick like he had everything planned out.

"Save for the behemoth constructed on that tribal site a few miles up the road, this house is going to be the best looking home around here." The general contractor was impressed with what he was building.

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Rick and Alexis saw the two dump trucks arrive and dump their loads then watched a little bobcat move all of it to the area in front of the still-open garage since the doors were not yet installed. Rick knew what they were going to look like since he had a model rendering of the place on his laptop that his architect had provided.

Then they watched it all get flattened by a machine with large rolling wheels. "Flintstones Daddy!" Alexis pointed to the machine that was compacting the gravel. Rick started chuckling since Alexis was right. It did looked a lot like Fred Flintstone's car that Alexis had seen on Cartoon Network.

Rick had gotten out the food for their picnic and they were eating in the truck when the their trailer showed up. They watched it get put in place and leveled then get hooked up to the water supply using a hose from the laundry area just inside the house beyond the garage entrance.

Rick watched the general contractor wave to them when it was all done. Rick and Alexis started moving in all of their suitcases, puppy supplies, and the food that was left over from the grocery trip earlier.

It was a 41 foot Jayco brand trailer with all the comforts of home. It had a queen bed at one end and a leather sofa that was a hide-a-bed on the other end. There was an entertainment center located above an electric fireplace. It had a kitchen with a range, oven and microwave. There was a double bowl sink and two chairs and dinette area that seated four. A tub/shower combo, toilet, vanity, and also a stacked washer/dryer unit were inside the bathroom .

Each main area had a ceiling fan though the trailer had two A/C units on the roof and a single heating unit that Rick hoped they wouldn't need. The main way in and out was through a sliding glass door. Everyone's clothes went into the wardrobe area of the single bedroom.

Someone had to come out and pump out the waste tank every 2 weeks for the next 2 months. They would be living in the trailer until they could move into the house, even though it still wouldn't be entirely completed.

There was an unexpected problem that had to be corrected. Rick's new truck was too long to fit in the garage. The solution was relatively simple. Rick lost the storage on one wall that was the laundry room in order to extend one side of the garage. He now had to always park his truck on the right side of the garage. Rick blamed it on the crew cab section. He got lucky when he selected a truck that had a short bed instead of an 8 foot long bed. If he had done that they might have been screwed. Even if it had been an extended cab.

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"Ready to go Alexis?" Rick looked over at her sitting on the floor playing with Midas and Maggie with a squeaky plush toy. "More camping?" Alexis deflated and stopped paying attention to Midas and Maggie which did not sit well with them, so they attacked her and got her laughing and playing.

"We're going to go buy a trailer so that we can go camping later. We need to buy one now while the prices are lower. It's only a 2-1/2 hour drive to get there." Rick corrected her thinking. "You can bring Midas and Maggie." He dangled a carrot to get her moving.

It seemed to have worked since she was sitting in back with Midas and Maggie. "I asked you to use the bathroom before we left," he reminded her. "I'm sorry Daddy." Rick pulled her into the gas station so she could use the restroom, leaving Midas and Maggie in the truck. He felt guilty so he spent a whole $7 to top off his truck with gas before leaving.

Three and a half hours later Rick was learning how to drive with a travel trailer hooked to his truck.

 _ **Jayco Eagle with floor plan 314TSBH**_. 37' 10" long, gross weight of 10,750 which was fine since his truck was rated for 15,100 pounds. Granted he still had to fill it with clothing, linens, cooking supplies, and countless other items which would add to the overall weight.

It had a bedroom with a queen-size bed up at the hitch. There was a sleeper sofa made of leather like the one in the rental trailer, a U-shaped dinette that could be converted to full size sleeper (both part of the same pull-out), an entertainment center on one wall. The kitchen had a double bowl sink, a propane fired range and oven that might just maybe fit a turkey (a small one). Also a refrigerator/freezer that ran on electricity or propane. There was a tub that he didn't fit into and could barely stand up in it to take a shower.

In back there were 2 game chairs that already had an X-box and TV installed. A fold-down bunk bed was located above them. (pull-out) The other side had a single upper bunk bed. Below it, accessible from the exterior, was the outside cooking range, and prep area. Sink and mini fridge (pull out).

Midas and Maggie's kennels were going to be placed in the back where there was space.

"What do you think pumpkin?" Rick asked her as they pulled up to their house where he was going to have his first lesson (self taught) on how to back up with a only took him 8 tries to get it parked right next to the trailer they were still living in for another few weeks. "It's not as big Daddy," Alexis pointed out, comparing it to the trailer Rick had rented for them to live in while the house was being worked on. He stuck his tongue out at his daughter who giggled.

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 **It is now 2 months later:**

"You take Midas and Maggie for a walk and make sure you stay outside til they both do their business while I start work on dinner," Rick told her and went inside the rental trailer to start work on dinner.

They were both eating when there was a knock on their door. "Don't mean to interrupt but I wanted to inform you that we can get you out of this thing and into your bedrooms tomorrow. The kitchen is also scheduled to be completed tomorrow provided that the appliances show up on time. So you'll be able to move out of this thing if you want," the general contractor told them. "What do you think pumpkin? Ready to move into our new home?" Rick asked her and watched her nod her head with enthusiasm.

The next day the general contractor volunteered 4 of his men along with himself, for a price, to get the bedroom furniture out of one of the pods and into the house. It was all the stairs that had them moaning. First there were the stairs just to get to the front door followed by the stairs to get up to the bedrooms. Still they never noticed that Rick had left Alexis behind in her room until they came downstairs and found three large pizzas and a six pack of beer from the Pizza Barn in town waiting for them. That and the cash soon soothed their aching muscles.

Rick and Alexis were left to move everything out of the pod and into the kitchen after those same workers installed the appliances that were delivered late. "It all works and we'll be back in the morning to finish the ground floor before moving downstairs," the general contractor advised him.

Alexis fell asleep while Rick was undressing her; she was lying on her own bed in a bedroom filled with boxes. He all but sleepwalked himself down the hall and into his bedroom where he still had to put sheets on the bed and find his pillows before he could strip and fall onto the bed.

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Rick was happy at least a little to be no longer doing what he had been doing for the previous 2 months:

Rick was picking up Alexis from school yet again which had become a weekday ritual. Twenty minutes into town in the morning to drop her off at the elementary school then twenty minutes back home. Take Midas and Maggie out to make sure they do their business and go inside their rental trailer to work on writing his next book. The trailer was a quiet oasis where he could work away from the continued construction noise. Eat lunch and take Midas and Maggie back outside for a walk. Then go back inside to get some more writing done. Load up Midas and Maggie into the truck and drive twenty minutes to the elementary school to pick up Alexis and twenty minutes back with her in the back playing with Midas and Maggie.

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Today was going to be different. For one it was Saturday and the contractor had finished fixing the things on Rick's list from the walk through of their new house. He had pulled up stakes and was gone.

The house was done and they were all moved in!

It was early, really early in the morning. Rick was turning blue and was almost completely out of breath. "Stupid town doesn't have one single helium tank?" he wheezed as he blew up the last of 40 balloons and punched it to send it flying, all of 3 feet.

Next came the glitter. Since all he had that would do the trick were a few boxes of tinsel that went on their Christmas tree, he used that and hung it from the railings across the walkway on the second floor that overlooked the living room and down the staircase. Then there were three colors of ribbon that were taped to the railing above the living room and thrown over the side and ended with the end tucked under a piece of furniture. Rick got out a ladder and hung the banner from the wrought iron chandelier.

Then he went upstairs to get his daughter out of bed and into the tub for her morning bath. He left her to put on the clothes laid out on her bed and waited outside her door.

Alexis came out the door and into the wonderland of a display. Her dad pulled a horn out of his back pocket and blew it. **"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"** She saw tinsel, balloons, ribbons, and a banner hanging in the middle of the living room that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY. "Would the birthday girl like to have her birthday breakfast?" Rick asked bubbling over in excitement.

"Are there presents?" Alexis asked instead. "Not until after your birthday lunch, birthday cake, and birthday ice cream with your friends from school," Rick told her. Alexis looked downcast. She didn't have that many friends at school. In her eyes she only had one who showed any signs of wanting to be a friend.

She ate her breakfast and went outside to play with Midas and Maggie. Rick watched, feeling a little down, and prayed mightily that everything would work out like he had planned. That was when he heard the doorbell and was very thankful Midas and Maggie were outside. They went nuts when there was someone at the front door. You would think they wanted to rip whomever it was limb from limb. Only to end up sticking their noses into whomever it was. If you passed the test they hung around and tried to get petted. So far he hadn't seen anyone they didn't like.

Rick answered the door. "Hi welcome, come on in." He invited the little girl and her mother into the house. "I'm hoping you're Paige," Rick said. "This is Paige and I'm Vicki, her mother, and this is a present for the birthday girl. Where is she anyway?"

"She's outside playing with our 2 dogs. Not to worry - I'll keep the dogs away if they get to be too much." Rick was going to ask if Vicki had brought the girl's sleeping bag but then he saw it. "You're sure you're up for this?" Vicki questioned him. "Piece of cake. I've got lots of plans and ideas to keep them busy, enough food to feed a small army, and gallons of coffee to keep me awake and going," Rick chuckled.

"I'll be back at 7:00 in the morning to pick you up sweetie. Have fun and be nice." Vicki kissed her daughter and saw herself out just as the next woman showed up with her daughter.

Rick went to the door. "ALEXIS! Time to come inside and bring Midas and Maggie with you," he yelled. Alexis came running towards him with the dogs chasing and jumping.

"Happy Birthday party pumpkin." Rick waved his arm at the 4 girls her age or a year older. Next to them were 6 wrapped presents, 2 of them from Rick.

Midas and Maggie wasted no time in sticking their noses into each of the girls, 2 of whom didn't look to happy about it. "They're harmless, they're just trying to find out if they like you," Rick assured them. In seconds the dogs were going from girl to girl trying to get petted and bellies rubbed from all of them at the same time.

Rick let them talk and went into the kitchen and came out with cookies that he and Alexis had made together just the day before along with a pitcher of homemade lemonade and 5 glasses.

He disappeared and came back with a small TV that had a built in player and plugged it in while the girls ate and talked. Next thing the girls knew they had blankets, sheets, and pillows raining down on their heads while Midas and Maggie were running around barking, causing the girls to laugh. All of that was followed by Rick hustling down the stairs. "Okay girls. We're going to make the biggest and most awesomest blanket and pillow fort the world has ever seen with the TV in the middle," he announced.

He started pushing furniture around. "A little help ladies?" Rick asked and soon had 10 little arms and legs helping him push furniture around. "Now Alexis here is a master at blanket and pillow fort building so we are going to use one of her pervious masterpieces. You four are going to add your skill and make it even bigger and better than ever achieved before," he encouraged.

It took them an hour but soon they had the most awesome fort any child had ever seen. "Now we just need three more things," Rick informed them as he picked up a remote and pressed the button. The girls watched as blinds came down over all 8 windows on the wall plunging the room into an almost twilight darkness. It was only going to get darker when the sun went down later. "COOL!" Paige shouted.

"Now for number two," he said and walked over to a closet, pulled out a bag then reached in and handed each of the girls their own flashlight.

"And for number three." Rick went back to the same closet and came back with 5 games: Trouble; Chutes and Ladders, Hero addition; Headbanz; Jenga; Spirograph.

"Has everyone had lunch yet?" he asked them and watched all of them shake their heads. "EXCELLENT! Five sandwiches and chips coming right up," he declared and headed to the kitchen to make BLTs for the girls.

By the time he was done all he saw were the flashlights clicking on and off from inside the fort. The games were missing from where he'd left them. Even the dogs were missing. Rick slid their lunches into the fort one at a time followed by the glasses of lemonade that they had left behind. Pleased with himself, he left them to do what little girls do. "Absolutely DO NOT feed the dogs girls, we don't want them to get sick!" Rick was more worried about diarrhea though vomiting was also a possibility.

Then he had an idea and hurried to the kitchen. He came back with a bag and pushed it into the fort. "If you want to feed the dogs give them these, but no more than 3 per dog," Rick told them and watched a hand grab the bag and disappear beneath the blanket into the fort.

He was satisfied it would hold their interest for at least a little while. He planned on what to do next as he sat in the kitchen and contemplated his strategy.

"Bathroom?" Jenna asked standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Right this way," Rick answered and took her to the half bath that was at the front door. "Push the button on the left for number 1 and the one on the right for number 2," he instructed her and left her to her business. He was in the doorway to the kitchen when he heard the toilet flush and eventually the little girl ran out and crawled back into the fort.

Rick was hauling a floor fan up from storage in the basement when he saw Stephanie run from the half bath and crawl back into the fort. "The word must be out," he guessed as he chuckled.

It was getting dark outside and the only light was the light from the kitchen and the lights shining though from inside the fort.

Rick had 3 floor fans set up and plugged in. Next he had a tambourine in his hand. He really wanted some of those cymbals that drummers would hit, so he hoped this would do. He set up the stereo system, picked up the remote, and walked over to the old color wheel that he used for one of their fake Christmas trees and turned it on. Then he quickly went to each fan and turned them on then pressed the button on his remote.

He started shaking his tambourine. "There's a powerful storm brewing Captain. It looks like a big one. …What do we do Captain?" he yelled. He hit the table with his tambourine. "The main mast has broken Captain! The storm is getting bigger," he hollered, went to each fan, and turned the speed up from low to medium. Just as the lightning cracked over the stereo system, he cranked up the volume so that the next ones were really loud. "We're going to be swamped Captain!" he shouted as Midas and Maggie barked at him. Rick was grinning wide as he heard the girls giggling and the dogs barking as he turned the fan speed up from medium to high. "What do we do Captain? We need a hero to save us!" he yelled.

Rick was shocked when Midas came scrambling out of the fort's entrance and started barking. "Look Captain, it's Super Dog!" He went with it. He turned off the stereo, put his tambourine down, went to each fan to turn them off, and finally turned off the color wheel. "We're safe Captain," he announced and could hear the girls giggling louder as Midas just kept barking. "Midas," Alexis called and Rick watched him work his way back into the fort.

Rick pulled dinner out of the oven and called the girls to the table. "Anyone allergic to cheese? How about chicken? Pasta?" he inquired and got 5 head shakes. "Cheesy Chicken Casserole it is then." Rick scooped out some for each girl and gave them a glass of milk.

"Save room for cake and ice cream," he reminded them. The girls ate dinner in silence. When they were finished eating they gathered around Alexis to sing Happy Birthday. She blew out the candles with one breath as she made her birthday wish. Rick cut the cake into small pieces then gave each girl a plate with a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream. Then Alexis opened her birthday presents.

Present number one from Jenny - Basket of Hair Accessories - Hair Ties, Sparkley Clips, Head Bands, Bows.

Present number two from Stephanie - The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8.

Present number three from Brandi - Books: Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun; Having the Courage To Be Who You Are; Sleepover Sleuths (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #1); Summer Pony (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)).

Present number four from Paige - Yummy Nummies Mini Kitchen Playset - Sundae Maker.

Present number five from Rick - VTech Grade School Learning Nitro Jr. Notebook.

Present number six from Rick - Barbie Pop-Up Camper.

"Here's your movie girls." Rick handed over a tape. "Alexis knows how to use it." And he watched them crawl back into their fort. He stopped the dogs. "Not you two! You two need to go outside and do your business," he said as he took them outside and watched them both pee and poop.

Back inside the dogs both made a beeline for the entrance to the fort. Rick meanwhile put his storm-making equipment away, poured himself a glass of wine, and sat down to relax for a bit.

"Here are your sleeping bags girls. I suggest you come out and change for bed and use the bathroom." He stuffed each sleeping bag into the fort. He hoped the mothers had rolled sleepwear inside each of their sleeping bags like he had asked them along with a toothbrush. There was soon a line formed for the half bathroom as the girls waited with tooth brushes in hand.

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The next morning Rick was up and waiting for them as another line formed for the half bath except for Alexis and Paige who went upstairs. "There's another bathroom downstairs," he informed the girl at the end of the line who promptly ran downstairs.

"Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, or Froot Loops?" Rick asked each of them and poured what they selected into a bowl with milk. There was juice and toast as well.

While the girls ate their breakfast, he rolled up each sleeping bag with their clothes inside and had them waiting when the first mother showed up. Rick got a "Thank you Mr. Rodgers" after their mothers prompted their daughters. "You're welcome. You can come visit anytime," he replied.

Rick overheard a mother asking "Did you have a good time?" Her daughter replied "It was so cool Mom!" And Rick's head got bigger instantly. He was definitely the fun dad.

"How was your birthday party pumpkin?" he asked after everyone was gone. His little girl launched herself at him and hugged his legs. "I love you Dad."

That told him all he needed to know.


	5. Chapter 5

**CH5**

It had been a month since they had returned from their Yellowstone trip and Johanna was back to being downcast again, not eating and she slept most of the day. The only time Kate saw her was when she came home from work and cooked dinner that her mother only picked at.

"Mom's killing herself Dad and I don't know how to stop her." Kate collapsed onto the sofa and cried herself to sleep.

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Kate woke up, took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs. "Hi Mom, ready for our trip?" she asked her smiling. "All packed, I was just putting some last minute food choices together to put in the refrigerator," Johanna responded. "I thought we did that yesterday," Kate said. "I thought up something for me to cook to say thank you," Johanna replied.

"I'll go get my bag then and meet you at the motorhome," Kate told her and went back upstairs. She would have liked to have something for breakfast but she had gotten out of bed too late and spent too long in front of the mirror putting on her make-up. Why she had done that escaped her. It wasn't like he was going to see her until they stopped for one of many reasons. Her mother showed up with her suitcase and they loaded themselves into their motorhome. Kate started it up, checked all her gauges and brought up the address for their first stop on their portable GPS unit.

She slowly drove away from their big, blue, two story house that had grass, flowers, and plants everywhere. It even had a white picket fence. There was a barn out back that was just big enough to house their motorhome. The home's previous owner had it built for their motorhome which was probably smaller than the Becketts' but theirs still fit.

She drove slowly down their dirt and gravel road that they swore they were going to have blacktopped one of these days to hopefully make getting in and out of easier, especially when it rained.

Kate reached the end of their access road and saw their company for this trip waiting for them on the other side of the road. She and her mother waved and saw them wave back. She watched them pull their truck and trailer out onto the highway. Kate followed for their combined trip to Mount Rushmore. It was one more place her mother had never been to. She accepted the breakfast bar her mother handed her as she followed the trailer in front of her and the map on her GPS unit.

She was smiling all the way while her mother kept stealing glances at her while smiling herself. "WHAT!?" She couldn't take it any longer. "Just admit it Katie, you…"

Suddenly she was wide awake. Looking around she realized that it was late and that she had fallen asleep on the sofa dressed in her work clothes. She didn't understand why she was smiling nor why she was horny. She also felt like she was really dream was fading fast but she could still see a large dark truck with a large trailer behind it. She was used to seeing a motorhome but this one felt different somehow. Bigger maybe, certainly better looking inside. Even though Kate didn't remember seeing them, she just knew their scooters were strapped down in back.

"Mount Rushmore?" she said perplexed. It was then that Kate decided it was time. Her fears had stopped her when they had gotten back from Yellowstone, but it was time to be brave.

She pulled out their laptop and started a search. It took a little time but she found 2 real estate agents to talk to and sent them emails after filling out the information they asked for on a form on their websites. They each covered several counties of the state of Wyoming. Her mother had liked that area so that was where she would start her search. Montana didn't have that many large cities which suited Kate just fine.

First she needed some leads from the real estate agents before they flew out to see at least one property they had sent her to preview. If she and Johanna found one they both liked, she would turn in her resignation with two weeks' notice.

Next she went looking for a motorhome for them to go camping in since her mother seemed to like the last trip. She soon had two that she liked and wanted her mother's opinion: the _**Newmar Allstar, ATME 4153**_ with a table and 4 chairs instead of a dinette that seated four. The _**Thor Outlaw, 37RB**_ didn't have the option for changing the dinette to a table. They were both toy haulers that had room in back for 2 scooters just like Yellowstone. Both were diesel with better mileage. The Thor was 37 feet long while the Newmar was 41'-10" long which gave it a little more space. She spent the next hour comparing the two and had formed her opinion of which one she liked better, but would wait to see what her mother thought. Both of them looked familiar but her dream had mostly faded.

As she closed the laptop keeping the websites open, Kate found herself smiling and actually felt free. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. "We're moving Mom. I'm not losing my mother too. You're all I have left," she stated with conviction and went to bed.

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Today was going to be a very big day for her. No, scratch that. This whole week was going to be a really big week. Her only hope was that she wasn't making the biggest mistake she would ever make. But that nagging voice that had recently shown up in the back of her head was telling her it was the perfect choice.

She couldn't discount the change that had come over her mother over the past 2 months. Kate had gotten a number of housing options from both realtors and had whittled that number down to three from each. Together with her mother they further reduced that down to two from just one of the realtors. A week later, after asking for another 2 days off work, she and her mother had flown out to a small city in South Dakota and rented a car for the drive to the realtor's office. It had taken them just short of 1 hour and 45 minutes to make the drive.

The first place he had taken them to was way outside of an even smaller town called Newcastle in Wyoming. It wasn't so small that you could throw a rock from one end to the other. It was just that anything not as big as New York was small. The next one was a lot closer and was about 20 minutes north on US85, turning off onto a dirt access road.

Kate almost had a heart attack when the house came into view. It was two stories, painted a light blue. It had a large front patio area that had a table and chairs. There was a large deck on the second floor. The place was surrounded by grass and flowers. Planted flowers and wild flowers. It even had a small white picket fence that didn't really enclose anything.

"Are you alright Katie?" Johanna asked seeing the look on her face and the fact that she had stopped breathing. Johanna thought it was a lovely house but not enough to warrant kind of reaction. "I'm fine mom, just fine," she insisted. "It reminds me of something I think I saw in a magazine," she added to prevent her mother from digging a little more.

They had both seen the pictures that the realtor had sent them however it wasn't until Kate actually saw it in person that it hit her. It was the house in her dreams. It even had a large garage barn out back. The previous owners were an elderly couple who had a motorhome and had the garage built to store it in. They were long since retired, however, now both of them needed constant medical attention so they had sold the motorhome and were selling the house, furniture, and everything else included. It turned out everything meant everything, right down to the linens and pillows on the beds.

The house had a 90' deep well and a septic system with two different drain fields. Solar hot water panels and a 500 gallon propane tank served the furnace, water heaters, dryer, and stoves. The realtor explained that they would need to have the tank filled about every 3 months in the dead of winter.

For whatever reason the previous owner had the house split into two apartments. One full apartment upstairs and the original house downstairs. Each floor had a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 1-1/2 bathrooms. It only had one electrical service and one water service to feed the entire house. Each floor had its own propane fired water heater.

The downstairs living room had a fireplace as did the master bedroom. Both master bedrooms were huge with large sitting areas. The downstairs apartment had hardwoods throughout while the upstairs was completely carpeted. The upstairs kitchen, while very large, wasn't much to look at and the appliances were on the old side. They agreed to spend some of the money to have the kitchen totally gutted and re-done. They would use the one downstairs while that took place.

The property was listed at $660,000. They offered $606,000 and ultimately settled on $622,000 provided it passed inspection.

Kate and Johanna returned to Rapid City, South Dakota to see if the motorhome she had selected on-line was even sold there. Unfortunately the dealer told her she had to go to Denver to get it. The Newman Allstar was available at the RV Center. They had listed the motorhome online at $165,000. She found a Yamaha Majesty with all the options for $6,800 for herself while her mother settled on a Yamaha Zuma 50FX with all options at $2,590. All they had to do was fly to Denver, pick it all up, then drive 6 hours to their new home. Johanna was going to follow Kate in her brand new 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. They would then drive to Rapid City for Kate to pick up her Jeep Wrangler Sport.

 _ **Jeep Wrangler Sport**_ – 4.0 liter, 5 speed manual, (which was new to Kate), 4WD, airbag, black hardtop (she didn't want a rag for a roof). It was a dark winter green color, had a winch on the front and a block heater.

 _ **Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited**_ – 4.0 liter, 4 speed automatic, 4WD, air bag, optional full size spare tire, block heater. It was white with a tan interior.

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The motorhome, cars and scooters were in the near future. Right now Kate was nervous. Since she leaving soon, she wasn't permitted to work on any new cases and her present case load was nothing so she decided to work off her nerves. She was upstairs in the gym working out. She had long ago done stretching routines followed by some weight lifting. Now she was trying to pound the punching bag hanging from the ceiling into the next state. She was getting tired, sweaty, and probably stunk up the place which only added to the stinky dried sweat that permeated the place already.

Suddenly there were hands holding her swinging bag in place. "It works better if you have someone holding the bag," he told her. "Probably but I've had enough already. The place is yours," Kate replied and started taking off her gloves. "My name's Demming, Tom Demming. I'm a detective in Robbery," he offered. "It's been nice meeting you Tom," Kate said. "I didn't catch your name," he pointed out. "I didn't throw it," she countered and was saved from any further communication for the moment when her cell phone rang.

"Beckett. …Oh, hi Mom. …No, I'll be home early tonight I think unless the guys or Lanie have something planned and knowing them they probably do," she chuckled. She listened for a minute. "That sounds nice, how about if I meet you there? There's nothing in the house to cook with anyway. See you there, bye Mom." She ended the call and headed for the showers.

"I was only trying to be nice and ask you…" Tom was interrupted when Kate said, "So was I." And she walked into the women's section to shower and change clothes to go back down to the bullpen.

Tom, however, now had enough to work with. He decided to not work out as he had planned and went downstairs to bide his time. He would wait just long enough for Homicide Detective Kate Beckett to make it out of the showers and spend some time on the 4th floor before he would make his entrance and try again.

She wasn't surprised when she found the guys and even Captain Montgomery waiting for her, though he was probably just Montgomery or Roy now, since it was just past 5:00 pm and she was officially unemployed. "There you are," Espo called and put a bottle of beer in her hand. "To Detective Kate Beckett, the best homicide cop this city has or ever will see," Espo offered up and clinked bottles with everyone.

"It's not going to be the same around here without you Beckett. I feel like I'm losing a family member or something." Ryan looked like he was ready to cry. "You two will find someone else to harass on an hourly basis," Kate countered. "Naw, the Captain here will just hire some slob who litters his desk with last week's trash and has the personality of a block of granite," Espo snarked.

"I'll remember you said that detective," Roy remarked teasingly. "Sorry sir." It was only then that Espo worked out how far he had stuffed his foot into his mouth. "I'll be right back. I need to find out where Dr. Parish is," Roy said. He had invited her to the little get together.

"There you are," Tom called as he walked into the break room. He helped himself to a bottle of beer and opened it. "What are we celebrating?" he asked while staring at Kate. "It's a going away party Demming and I don't remember the Captain putting you on the list," Espo barked. "I'm on everyone's list and Kate here invited me while we were upstairs, right Kate?" And Tom placed a hand on her arm that she looked at and wished it would wither to a stump.

"Not cool Demming." Espo had had just about enough of this. "Kate was just accepting my offer to dinner tonight when she got called away." Tom wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The next thing he knew he was on the floor with a bloody nose after Kate used her elbow to jab him in the ribs then took his head and slammed his face into the table followed by an open palm to said broken and bloody nose.

"What happened in here?" Roy was back. "The, uh, floors are a little slick in here. I think the janitor crew over did it last night and Demming is wearing the wrong shoes. Ryan and I tried to hold him up, but I think we just made it worse…sir," Espo haltingly explained. "Espo's right Captain. Demming just can't hold his liquor," Ryan added since the bottle of beer Demming had had spilled all over the floor.

"I see. You'd better get downstairs and have that looked at Detective. No more party for you," Roy told him as Demming picked himself up off the floor then gave Kate a look of "I'll be back for payback later" and stalked off to the elevator.

"Now that he's gone, anyone care to tell me what really happened?" Roy demanded, starting with Espo and then moving on to Ryan before coming back to Espo. "It was just as Espo said…" Kate was interrupted by Espo who couldn't take the look Roy was giving him anymore. "Demming was hitting on Beckett and the table took exception to him and smashed itself into his nose…sir." Espo provided his rendition of the events that took place.

Roy took it all in. "We're really going to miss you around here Kate. I don't think we're going to have this much action around here anytime soon." He was no fool. "Sir, I didn't…" she was interrupted again. "I'm sure he had it coming and if he wants to press charges, none of us saw you do anything. Now if you'll excuse me… Take care of your mother and yourself, Kate." And Roy did what she never expected him to ever do, he hugged her tightly, let go, and walked to the elevator.

"What happened to you?" Lanie asked as the bloody mess that was Demming walked into the morgue. "Just fix me up so I can get out of here," he growled. "I mostly work with dead people but I'll see what I can do," Lanie replied and started gathering up supplies. "You're making me miss the party," she informed him, making sure that he knew he was inconveniencing her.

"It's not a party, it's a…" Demming didn't get any further when Roy walked in. "Dr. Parish your presence is needed upstairs. I'll handle it from here," he said and stepped up to the two.

Lanie dropped everything. "If you say so," she agreed. He was the captain of the precinct and her boss in a way. Lanie had only just gotten past the doors and started down the corridor when she heard "YOU'RE DAMN LUCKY BECKETT DOESN'T PRESS CHARGES FOR SEXUAL HARRASSMENT DETECTIVE!" Roy bellowed. "You're suspended for one week without pay and will attend a mandatory class about avoiding sexual advances and the consequences of these actions. If you fail to attend even one class you can consider yourself permanently suspended pending an official review about being fired. Do I make myself clear detective!?" Roy's voice traveled all the way down the hallway to Lanie who had finally made it to the elevator which was easy given that she was moving very slowly, not wanting to miss anything.

Thirty minutes later Lanie was hugging Kate, crying and sniffling. "I'm going to miss you girl. I don't know where I'm going to find another best friend." Lanie's tears mingled with Kate's. "I'm going to miss you too. You've been a good friend who straightened out my stupidity. You can expect phone calls asking you what I should do," Kate said.

Kate was waving at the guys and Lanie who waved back as the elevator doors closed. "Now what do we do?" Lanie sniffled and wiped her nose and tears away. "We're detectives. We find out where exactly she moved to, save up our vacation time and surprise her with a visit. That's what we do," Espo answered her question. "Isn't Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone out there somewhere? I'm sure Jenny would love to see one or the other," Ryan pointed out. "Time to start saving our money," Espo said as Lanie nodded. She was going to work her ass off to be able to afford the trip. Her best friend may be moving away but she would be damned if she let Kate get away from her completely.


	6. Chapter 6

**CH6**

Rick went down to the basement and into the laundry/freezer room and pulled out two 1 pound packages of ground beef. He had been impressed with the grocery store just before the first snow was scheduled to fall. The place was packed with people and the store had hired some teenagers to help stock the shelves. Rick saw two huge semi-trailers sitting out front as they unloaded one of them and filled the shelves while others priced everything. The other one was a freezer trailer that had frozen sides of beef, crate after crate of frozen turkeys and whole chickens, frozen bacon, frozen pork shoulders, and frozen baby back ribs.

Rick got his side of beef tagged and scheduled an appointment with the one of the two butchers. He turned his side of beef into 125 pounds of ground beef divided into 1 pound packages. 150 pounds were in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, and tenderloin. He picked it all up in four 12x12x12 boxes and had Alexis help him pack it all into one of his upright freezers.

Going back he picked up six 22 pound frozen turkeys, 8 whole frozen chickens and 12 frozen full racks of baby back ribs along with a case of 48 packages of frozen bacon. Next came 24 dozen eggs that also went into the freezer. He had read where it was possible to do freeze eggs so he hoped it worked. He added a case of bread dough that went into the freezer thanks to more research. When that ran out, he planned to mix up his own bread dough in big batches to freeze according to instructions he found on the internet. He needed to remember to double the yeast to compensate for the yeast that died off during freezing and to use only active dry yeast, not fast rising yeast. If this worked out they would have the smell of fresh bread each week for months.

He also bought frozen vegetables, case after case of canned vegetables, several packs of frozen bell peppers of three different colors (green, red and orange). Celery could be frozen as well, it would just have to be cut into 1 inch pieces and blanched first.

The meat came in individual vacuum sealed packages. It took him and Alexis hours to vacuum seal everything else themselves. "We're all done pumpkin, now what do we do?" Rick asked her. "I'd like pizza!" Alexis replied. It was the one thing they didn't have any of, frozen or not and he didn't have a pizza oven. Note to self: Next summer have a pizza oven installed out back.

"Fine. Go get your coat and make sure you take Midas and Maggie outside and pick up after them," he told her. They were her dogs so Rick was getting her to take care of them as much as possible.

"Daddy, can Paige and Jenny come over to play?" Alexis asked while eating pizza and kicking her legs. "Sure sweetheart. Ask them to bring their sleeping bags and pajamas and they can spend the night," he agreed. All he wanted was to make his daughter happy and so far she hadn't mentioned anything like what happened at her last school.

Alexis grinned while eating her pizza. That very weekend Rick let Paige, her mother Vicki, and Jenny and her mother Veronica in and took their sleeping bags and made sure that they had pajamas and a toothbrush rolled up inside just like last time.

"Paige has been asking me if today was Saturday yet for days," Vicki said knowing that Paige was excited to spend the night again. "Jenny hasn't been after me quite that much but she's excited too. This is awfully kind of you Mr. Rodgers," Veronica chimed in. "Please call me Rick. You're starting to make me feel old with the Mister stuff, and I'm glad to have them. If you and your husband want a date night just drop them off in the afternoon. Alexis and the dogs will keep them hopping and they'll just conk right out at bedtime," Rick said. "I don't know about Veronica but I might take you up on that. We don't find much time to be alone anymore," Vicki remarked. "Count me in," Veronica added. "Just call ahead and warn me and you're set." It's all Rick asked.

Their mothers had left some ago. Rick was working on BLTs again for lunch and was wondering where the girls were. It was too quiet. Then dogs started barking and he heard kids running and nails on wooden floors. It sounded like they had been downstairs and now they were upstairs. He was guessing they were in Alexis's bedroom which was where he took a large tray with lunch plates and glasses of milk. "Remember girls don't feed the dogs," he reminded them.

Rick was sitting in the living room working on his book and was actually about 5 or 6 chapters from being done. What he needed next was a new publisher to send it to, but that could wait for a bit. He heard but paid no attention to three girls running downstairs to the basement until suddenly all three of them were standing in front of him. Alexis and Paige each had a soccer ball from the game room. "Can we play outside Dad?" Alexis asked and used her best puppy dog eye look that had never failed her yet.

"Sure, put on your coats, hats, and gloves and take the dogs with you. And don't stray too far from the house," Rick told them, getting a yay from each of them as they scattered to find their coats. He soon heard a door slam closed and went back to writing.

He was only interrupted a couple of times when Midas and Maggie were barking. It looked to Rick like a soccer game using two balls with the three girls against the two Dobermans. The girls appeared to be doing all the scoring while Midas and Maggie looked content to try and intercept each ball that was kicked. They were both growing up fast however they were still just puppies.

Rick went back to writing until he noticed the time and decided the girls had been outside long enough. Then he heard the dogs barking again, only this time they were both barking non-stop and it didn't sound like a playful bark. He dropped his laptop on the sectional without saving his work, ran for the door, and looked outside. The girls were huddled together and were pointing while both Midas and Maggie were in front of the girls barking their heads off. He ran out into the cold. "What is it?" he yelled over the barking that still hadn't stopped. "It was a bear Dad," Alexis told him. "A really big one Mr. Rodgers," Paige added as Jenny nodded.

They were only a few miles from the Tribe as the people in town called it that was based deep into the Black Hills National Forest. Though technically mostly in South Dakota, part of the National Forest was only a few miles from here. Rick's land was 179 acres and mostly wooded. The eastern-most edge was only a couple of miles from the state border.

He had chosen this place because of the clan that lived on the edge of the National Forest and deeper into it. He knew eventually that Alexis would see a bear, it looked like today was the day. Still Rick didn't see anything himself at the moment. "Midas, Maggie, shush that's enough. It's gone now." He bent down and petted them and told them they were good dogs to reinforce that they were to protect Alexis at all times and by default any of her friends that were with her.

He then gave them all hugs. "Pick up the balls and let's go inside. You've been out in the cold long enough. Your mothers are going to skin me if I send you home with colds," he told them.

Rick knew what he was doing tonight while the girls slept.

"Dad can we play pool?" Alexis asked him. "Of course, just remember to use the step stool, be careful with the pool cues, and remember to rub the chalk on the tips sometimes," Rick told them and watched them race each other downstairs to see who played against whom first.

He decided to start dinner. He could still barely hear the sound of pool cues hitting pool balls, telling him where the girls were and at least what two of them were doing. The next time he checked he could hear the unmistakable sound of them using the air hockey table. The problem with that was they only had the one step stool so that the tables weren't too tall for Alexis to use properly. Note to self: Buy another step stool.

Rick was just about done with dinner. "Girls, it's time for dinner. You three need to wash your hands and come upstairs for dinner." Dinner was Peking vegetable stir-fry with chicken and spices on sticky rice.

"You have a really nice house Mr. Rodgers," Jenny said with a full mouth. "Why thank you Jenny. We like it. We're still breaking it in and trying to figure out what we still need or what needs to be fixed," Rick replied. Dinner was silent until they were almost done. "Do you go camping?" Paige asked. Rick figured she must have seen the travel trailer sitting out in front of the garage on the side he can't park his truck in. "Have you been to Keyhole?" Paige asked just as she finished eating. "I've never heard of it. Do you know where it is?" he asked her and watched her nod. "It's north of here somewhere. Mom and Dad took me camping there once. We used a tent and had a fire and everything," she explained. "Do they have space for big trailers like mine?" he asked. "Uh huh" was his only answer. "They also have boats," she added. "Boats huh?" Suddenly Rick had an idea that was going to cost him money if he bought one.

"Mr. Rodgers, can I go camping with you?" Paige asked which told him that Paige had a reason for mentioning Keyhole. "Sure, but we're not going camping until at least spring which is months from now," he told her. "Can I go too?" Jenny asked softly. "Of course you can. It has bunk beds you two can use while Alexis can sleep on the sofa that folds out into a bed. You would have to share space with Midas and Maggie and need your parents' permission, but sure, you two can come sometime." He was willing to take them with him. Anything to make Alexis's friends happy.

That got smiles from both Paige and Jenny. Their new friend was turning out to be a gold mine as far as they were concerned. It didn't hurt that Alexis was nice to them. Plus she had dogs and the coolest dad with a big house.

"Does it get really cold here?" Rick asked since he had them talking. "Yep, it snows a lot sometimes too." Paige answered. "School never closes," Jenny added. That came as a shock to Rick. "Never?" he asked and watched both Paige and Jenny shake their heads. WOW! Just an inch in New York and the city went into a total shutdown, not to mention panic. Suddenly he was glad he had a big truck and took the tire package that he did.

"Do you put chains on your tires here?" Rick had never put chains on a truck, car or anything in his life. "Yup." Paige simply stated. "My dad hates them. He always has to get out in the cold to put them on. Sometimes he says bad words," Jenny added, which made him chuckle. He had no doubt that he would likely be cursing when he was out in the cold putting chains that he didn't even have yet on his truck. Another note to self: Buy snow chains for the truck.

The girls were off washing their hands and faces after dinner while Rick looked up chains for his truck and ordered some online. He prayed that UPS could get them way out here before the first bad snow storm.

"Do you three want to play a board game or maybe a card game? Alexis knows where they all are," he said. "Or how about a movie on the big TV?" Rick offered since he didn't get much of a response to the first offer. This time he got three nodding heads with big smiles. "How about Toy Story 2?" he suggested as Paige and Jenny nodded. Rick knew Alexis had already watched it, but then he didn't have that many movies suitable for her that she hadn't watched.

The movie had almost ended and all three of them were yawning big time, barely keeping their eyes open. "Okay, you three go to the bathroom and brush your teeth. You two need to find your sleeping bags, change into your jammies, and to go sleep in Alexis's bedroom. It's late," Rick informed them and watched all three drag themselves upstairs. "I'll be up in a minute to check on you," he said and turned off the player followed by the TV since he wasn't going to be needing it. The only ones that went up the stairs with any speed were Midas and Maggie.

He called Midas and Maggie back downstairs and took them outside so they would do their business then went upstairs to check on the girls. "Good night pumpkin, I love you." Rick kissed her head as she settled down to sleep on the floor with the others. "Good night Paige and Jenny," he said quietly and stroked their hair. He turned on the night light which slowly changed colors from red to blue then to green and back again to red.

Rick waited until midnight before going outside slowly so as not to alert either Midas or Maggie who were also sleeping the night in Alexis's bedroom, likely curled up against one of the girls.

He used the front door to exit the house and started walking until he reached the tree line which wasn't that far away. He worked to stay on only certain areas like he had been taught. No that wasn't right. More like forced to follow when he was a kid. He stripped his clothes and shoes off and changed. It was really dark since the moon was barely a sliver. Still he didn't need his eyes to get to where he wanted to go, he had his nose as he breathed in and out silently as he had been taught, no…forced to do.

His huge paws barely made a dent in the pine needle-covered ground that he traveled over. When he thought he had reached the area the girls and the dogs had seen the bear he slowed down. He nosed the ground and wandered around. Finally he caught a whiff of a scent and followed it until he found the spot. Even with his eyesight he could spot the huge paw print of a bear and shoved his nose down to it to breathe in the scent. He had no trouble identifying it and while he was a little surprised, he also wasn't. "Losing your touch old man…or you did it on purpose?" Which was more likely. It was also likely that he let the girls and the dogs see him before retreating. It was probable Rick was being watched right now, either as a human with night goggles or a bear using smell.

He knew his father wasn't going to show up at his front door unless he was desperate and his father was never going to be desperate enough to do that. Show up to make demands certainly, but to ask him for something? Never going to happen. Which suited Rick just fine. "You can sit on your throne and rot for all I care." Rick had what he wanted so he headed home and changed back when he reached his clothing.

He knew one of these days he was going to have to run the boundary of his property and get a proper feel for where they lived now. This was not New York City and the rules were different here. Though he had to admit changing into his bear had been fun. It had relieved some of the pressure on him. It left him wondering what it would be like to run when it snowed and toboggan down a hillside on his belly. Be a kid again, growing up, without his father this time.

Once he got back into the house he went to find his phone knowing that his friend would still be up even at this hour. Actually Rick wondered if he ever slept. "Hi Grey, it's Castle. I need a favor."

"A little birdie told me that Richard Castle doesn't exist anymore." Grey was happy to hear his voice. "Your little birdie is well informed. I needed to get away. Some people that I trusted were actually hurting me and more importantly, my family," Rick told him."Who are they and what have they done to Alexis?" Grey was going to make them disappear. "And why don't you show up on my ID?"

"Satellite phone. Cell phones can be traced too easily and if those ladies find me again I'll let you know," Rick said, not knowing that he had already told Grey just enough.

"So what's this favor you need?" Grey got down to business. He had Rick's new number now since he had been typing while talking. "I have a new home on 179 acres and I want the perimeter monitored," Rick told him. "I think I have just the system. I just need to figure out how many sensors you need for 179 acres and if you'll need any relays. It's really simple to use. I'll send you the install DVD which will explain how to install the sensors and how to monitor them using your laptop. Just so you know, each sensor uses a 9 volt alkaline battery that won't be included. Plus you'll need to change the batteries at least yearly. You'll get a warning on your laptop when a sensor goes down and what the error code means," Grey advised him.

"Sounds like just what I need. I owe you. I'll tell you where to send it," Rick said. "No need. Newcastle, Wyoming is definitely not New York City my friend," Grey told him as he stopped typing since he had all he needed. "Don't forget who you are talking to Richard." Rick chuckled. "One of these days I'll learn. Thanks, you're a life saver," he told him. "Just don't put any of this in one of your books. I know where you live, and if you're stupid enough to ever get married again I expect an invitation for that one. And Richard…hug and kiss that sweetheart for me. Your little girl is going to grow up to be something special." Grey ended the call, leaving Rick to stare at his satellite phone.

A quick peek into Alexis's room told him that the girls were still fast asleep, though both Midas and Maggie were awake and just lying there. "You two stay there," Rick whispered softly and partially closed the door then headed for his bedroom.

"So we have a lake nearby with a boat ramp do we," he said to himself as he opened up his laptop to begin his search. First up was what it took to winterize a boat and could it sit outside covered in snow? Armed with those answers he began his search. He knew he had a weight limit, beyond that he didn't know what he wanted in a boat. That got him to look up the lake to see just how big it really was, thinking maybe that would help.

Sailboats sounded like fun but that would mean sailing lessons that were likely to be hard to come by way out here. So he stuck with motorized and soon found he had a choice. Inboard motor or outboard? Plus how much was he really willing to spend on a boat that might get used he didn't know how many times a year. Still that hadn't stopped him from buying a travel trailer. Especially when he hadn't even given it any thought.

Then he closed his laptop. "Let's see if we like camping in a trailer first before we go boating," Rick told himself as he got up to change and go to bed. He still had to get up early and make breakfast for the girls before their mothers' came to collect them and take them home.


	7. Chapter 7

**CH7**

Rick didn't know what to do about Halloween this year since it was their first one in Wyoming. In New York he would have taken Alexis to a mall and made the rounds. It was safe and they would dress up. However out here they didn't have a mall and there wasn't another house close to them except for the elderly couple across from them off of US85. He had been told by Vicki that they were elderly and not getting around that well anymore.

Rick had decided that he would take it upon himself to look in on them from time to time. He left the dogs at home and loaded up Alexis. They went across the highway, down their dirt road, and parked out front. It was a nice looking house. It was a light blue, it had grass and there would probably be lots of flowers come spring and summer. It even had a white picket fence that didn't actually enclose anything, though it bordered the patio that had a table and chairs out front.

"Be nice," he warned Alexis one more time. She wasn't used to elderly people and he wanted her to be on her best behavior. "Yes?" an elderly lady answered the door. "Good afternoon, I'm Richard Rodgers and this is my daughter Alexis. I built and we live in the house directly across 85 from you. I thought we should introduce ourselves to our only neighbors," he told her. "OH! Well you should come in young man and bring that child out of the cold." She opened the door wide and stepped aside.

The living room was large and appeared to have two separate seating areas. One had a sofa and two plush chairs with a coffee table in front of a fireplace. The other, to the right, had a loveseat, coffee table, and an antique roll-top desk. In front of him was the breakfast bar of the open kitchen. From here he could see the kitchen sink under a window and that was about it. "Please come in. Have a seat and take your coats off, it's already getting cold out. …Lyle, we have company," she yelled.

"Where are my manners? I'm Celia and my husband, who should be here in a moment, is Lyle," she said as they saw an older man using a walker enter from another part of the house. "Dear, these are our neighbors from across the road. You know, the one where that mansion you liked so much was being built," she reminded him.

"That's quite the house Mr. …" he trailed off. "Richard Rodgers, you can call me Rick and this is Alexis," Rick told him. Lyle shuffled a little closer. "And how old are you sweetie? I love that hair of yours. I'll bet you keep your father on his toes," Lyle said. "I'm six." Alexis was shy. "Actually I sometimes think she's bringing up me. Alexis is a very active reader," Rick remarked. "It's fun," she said quietly. She liked to get lost in the book and hear stories.

"We moved here from New York and don't know what to do for Halloween," Rick told them as he guided Alexis over to the sofa in front of the fireplace. "There aren't any children this far out I'm afraid. Mostly just us and we don't have any candy. We don't often eat it. I do have cookies though. I'm a good cookie baker," Celia said proudly and got up from her chair just as Lyle sat down in his. She headed into the kitchen and disappeared a short time, returning with a plate that had two different types of cookies. "One is peanut butter with a Hershey's kiss in the middle and the other is chocolate fudge with walnuts. I hope you're not allergic to walnuts." Celia put the plate on the coffee table near Alexis.

"It's alright dear you can have one. Mostly I made them for Paige though she doesn't come over as often anymore." Celia missed having company. "I'm afraid that would likely be my fault. Alexis had a birthday a little while back and 4 girls about her age showed up for her party. And not long ago Alexis had a sleep over with Paige and…" Rick forgot her name and looked at Alexis. "Jenny," Alexis responded just before biting into a peanut butter cookie.

"Jenny! Those two are probably the nicest of the children in this town. You have good taste child. Now I know why they have been missing," Celia said. "Sorry," Alexis murmured. "Oh, don't be sorry child. You need friends. You have all of your life in front of you. Good friends are important to have at your age. You keep them," Celia said.

"Perhaps I can get Alexis over here more often. Maybe bring the others if we have another sleep over. Besides it looks like your cookies are a hit!" Rick pointed out as Alexis had a cookie in each hand. Celia and Lyle chuckled at Alexis's expense. "In that case I'll always have cookies ready just for you," Celia offered.

"So what do you do Mr. Rodgers?" Lyle asked. "It's Rick, please, and I'm a writer. I've got a book that I've almost finished and will be trying to get published. It allows me to work from home and be there for Alexis when she needs me," he told them, hoping they'd never heard of Castle. "Sounds exciting, we've never met a writer before, I don't think. Have we dear?" Celia asked her husband. "I don't remember ever meeting anyone famous," Lyle stated. "Well, I'm not exactly famous, but maybe one day," he replied. Thankfully they dropped it and didn't ask how he could afford a house of that size if he wasn't famous.

"I'd like you two to come over for Thanksgiving if you don't have any plans. I'll do all the cooking," Rick offered. "Dad's a good cook," Alexis said. She was very proud of her dad since she liked what he cooked. "Our daughter, her husband, and our grandchildren are scheduled to fly up if weather permits," Celia told him. "We get an average of 7 inches of snow in November and it can all show up in two days," Lyle related giving Rick a clue of what was to come.

"Christmas maybe?" Rick offered instead. "That would be nice." Celia was interested."Another 7 inches of snow. We'll likely have a white Christmas," Lyle stated. "You can't have Christmas without snow. It's just not the same," Rick offered his opinion. "You get snow in New York?" Lyle asked. "Not usually for Christmas, but yes, New York City can get snow. Just a few inches will paralyze the city, close the airport, and leave people stranded in their homes," Rick remarked. "Not out here. Not unless it's 12 inches or more. Even then the schools don't close. Everyone has 4x4s out here; it takes a lot to stop people in Wyoming," Lyle said. "Good thing I have a big Ford F-350 then," Rick replied, getting a nod from Lyle. "I don't want to keep you, I just wanted to introduce ourselves," Rick said and got up taking Alexis's hand - the one empty of a cookie.

"Please, if your daughter and her family can't make it, let me know and you can join us for Thanksgiving. It's just going to be me and Alexis," Rick said again. "We'll keep it in mind," Celia replied as she escorted them to the door and watched them put their coats back on.

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Rick had the stuffing ready, the casserole was ready, the rolls were in the oven, the salad was ready and waiting in the refrigerator, the gravy was just about ready and the 22 pound turkey that he had injected spices into was sitting there waiting for him to carve it. Then the doorbell rang and suddenly he was hoping that Celia and Lyle had made it across the road. True to Lyle's prediction there was 7 inches of snow on the ground and they were expecting a little more tonight. "Can you get that pumpkin and let them in?" Rick called.

"DAD!" Alexis yelled, alerting him to the fact that it wasn't who he thought. Rick came to the door and found a woman who appeared to be in her mid 40s at his door. "Can I help you?" Rick had never seen her before. "My name is Rose. I'm Celia and Lyle's daughter from across the way," she said, introducing herself. "Oh yes, I've heard about you. It's nice to meet you. They told me you might make it out for Thanksgiving. If you and your family want to join us, you would be quite welcome. I cooked way too much," Rick offered with a wave of his arm.

"No, I'm over here…I mean Mom had a small stroke yesterday and I'm making arrangements to move them to Dallas where we live," Rose told him. "Oh no! I hope it wasn't too bad. She's so nice." Rick and Alexis had been over to visit twice since Halloween. "It wasn't too bad; it mostly scared her is all. She needs to be watched from now on though and Dad…he already doesn't get around that well these days. So it's best if they aren't on their own anymore," she explained.

"You must be Alexis. I've heard a lot about you," Rose suddenly mentioned as Rick noticed that Alexis was still standing next to him. "I think these are for you." And she handed her a plate covered in plastic wrap that had cookies on it. "You can keep the plate."

"What do you say?" Rick prompted. "Thank you," Alexis said shyly while holding her plate of cookies. "You're sure you don't want to…" He was interrupted. "No, I'm sure. I really need to get back. I still have a lot of things to work out, but thank you. And thank you for … just thank you." Rose's tears started forming again. "Come here," Rick gently said and enveloped her in a hug that would last her a lifetime. Rose simply melted into him and let him hug her. ' _My god this man knows how to give hugs!' she thought._ All she wanted to do was get lost in him. Take the pain away just for a moment. He eventually let go of her. "I should get going. We're leaving in a couple of days. I'll figure out what to do with the house after we get to Dallas," Rose told him.

"I'll be happy to look in on the place in the meantime," Rick offered. "That's not necessary," she protested. He had done a lot already given that her parents always mentioned them in their phone calls. "It's not a problem. I drive Alexis to and from school so all I have to do is turn left instead of right on the way home. It's no bother, truly." Rick thought it would help ease her mind and it really was no hardship. "Well thanks. It's been a pleasure to finally meet you. Enjoy the cookies honey. I'm sorry there won't be any more of them." Rose walked back to her car.

Rick was just closing the door when Midas and Maggie finally showed up. He had only just put down their food which had kept them busy while he and Rose talked. "Too late you two." He petted both of them. "Let's put your cookies away since they're the last of them," he said to Alexis. "They're moving?" Alexis didn't want them to move. "Yes, their daughter is taking them home with her so we won't see them again," he explained as they walked to the kitchen. All Alexis really understood was that she was losing two friends who were nice to her. The cookies only helped solidify that thought.

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Rick kept his word and every other day he drove to the Sanders' house where he eventually found a For Sale sign out front. Since they had received more snow he could tell that someone had driven to the house. Each visit he checked to make sure the doors were still locked and the windows weren't broken. "Still gone?" Alexis asked one visit. "I'm sorry pumpkin, I know you miss them, but yeah, they're still gone." His only prayer was that Celia hadn't had an even bigger stroke after the first one.

He had spent the last week, with a little help from Alexis, putting up Christmas decorations inside the house. Since he came from New York he didn't have any outdoor decorations and it had slipped his mind to actually buy any. _'Next year_ _,_ _'_ _he thought to himself._ He actually had two Christmas trees set up. The biggest real tree he could get into the truck by himself and into the house went up in the living room in front of his wall of windows. The other was his artificial tree which was downstairs. He had garland lining the rails across the top and down the staircase all the way to the basement.

His winter village was set up under the heavily decorated tree in the living room, complete with a Christmas-themed train set that circled the tree. Midas and Maggie were doing their very best to help by knocking over his village and chasing the train as it went around the tree. It took some work but he finally got them to leave it alone, or so he hoped. There were nutcracker figurines all over the place, snowflakes hanging from almost everything. He had Alexis help him pop popcorn and string it on a line. It was definitely up high enough that the dogs couldn't reach it.

There were even presents for Alexis under the tree. He had promised to take her into town today because she wanted to go shopping. She was busy putting vinyl Christmas stickers on the windows that led out to the backyard patio area downstairs when the doorbell rang, which caused the dogs to launch themselves up the stairs and bark at the door. Whoever was on the other side could only think that when the door opened, they would be dog food.

Rick got them to stop barking though they were still crowding him to find out who was at the front door. "MOTHER!?" He was shocked. They had talked but he hadn't seen her in years. Midas and Maggie naturally made it past Rick with no trouble since he was frozen, staring at his mother. Martha meanwhile was getting the royal treatment. The dogs finally decided she wasn't a threat though she did smell funny so they didn't back off very far as Rick pulled them away.

"Are you going to let me in dear?" Martha asked. "Of course," he replied and opened the door wider. He looked out past her to see if there was anyone else with her which he thought was highly unlikely. "Please sit down, can I get you anything? Water, wine, or beer perhaps? I have a microbrew out of Wyoming that I found that's rather tasty. Or something stronger?" he offered and waited to sit across from her. "It's a little too early even for me, but thanks," Martha replied. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Rick got to the point.

"Can't a mother come visit her son?" Martha asked. "You never cared to visit when I was in New York, why change now? Or are you here on orders from Father?" he questioned since he wouldn't put it past his father to send her just to gain intel. Note to self: Have Grey send a bug detector so I can sweep the house clean.

"How you lived in that filthy place escapes me and don't pretend to tell me that you enjoyed that city," Martha warned him. "New York has its moments. You're just too used to the wide open spaces to appreciate what the city has to offer," he said, defending living there. "So why move if you loved it so much?" Martha challenged. "There was a matter with my publisher and publicist that caused me to break from them. I'll leave it at that." Rick was done with those two and New York.

"Well, at least you're closer to home now. You really should come see the place. We've done wonders. I think even you would be impressed," Martha suggested. "And run the risk of running into Father? I'd rather step in an active volcano." Rick didn't even try to hide his distaste of speaking about his father. "He's your father, show some respect," Martha countered, not happy with his demeanor. "Like the respect my father showed me when I was growing up? Perhaps your memory needs some work. What I remember is the task master that whipped me when I didn't meet his requirements. The beast that berated me every chance he got, which was daily by the way. The ass that turned his back on me when I finally grew a spine that he tried to beat out of me daily. He may be your fated mate and husband, but he's no father and never will be," Rick stated with disdain for the thing that was his father.

"You ran away from him - from us - to that filthy place. And then you had the gall to marry that woman and have a child with her! Honestly son, you could have done so much better." Martha still hadn't gotten over Meredith and never would.

" **YOU LEAVE ALEXIS OUT OF THIS MOTHER!** " Rick was up on his feet and towering over his mother who just sat there. "Alexis is the one blessed thing I have in my life and I'm not subjecting her to Father, and since you have no interest in your own granddaughter, I believe it's time for you to leave. You can report back to his majesty that nothing has changed. Unless he wants to be a rug on my floor, he and his slaves will stay off my property. And yes, I know he was near here a few weeks ago, spying." Rick tried to calm down and stepped away from his mother.

"He was not spying, he was…" Rick interrupted her. "Concerned? Father isn't concerned about anyone save perhaps you and of course, himself, so don't lie Mother. I'll see you to the door," he said and gestured for her to leave. "If you hate your own kind so much, why did you move closer to us?" Martha inquired when she reached the door that he was holding open. "Why do you care? So you can provide ammunition for Father to use? Why I'm here is my own affair and does not concern him or the slaves in his clan." Rick still had venom in his voice.

"They _are not_ slaves Richard," Martha countered. "Oh really? And when was the last time anyone questioned Father about anything? Has anyone, even you, ever been allowed to look at the books? I saw pictures of that mansion you and he live in. My entire house would fit in your living room, and don't try and tell me that Father worked for that money. His slaves worked, or are working, their fingers to the bone for that money. And what do they live in? Travel trailers the size of the one I have out front?" he demanded.

"They're _not_ slaves," she reiterated. "And everyone has very nice homes in a community. We have a grocery store, theater, any number of small businesses, and schools. A school that your daughter should be in, not that Human school in town. She doesn't belong there Richard. One day you're going wake up and see that. I just hope it isn't already too late for that child," she commented. "Does she even know that she and her father are shifters?" Martha challenged. "My daughter doesn't concern you Mother, you've made that quite clear in the past. And it concerns Father even less. It's time for you to leave, you've gathered enough intelligence. Go back and report to his majesty and tell him to stay out of my life and the life of my daughter. Just because I live closer to him now doesn't change anything." Rick watched Martha go out the door, never having seen Alexis in her visit. She didn't even have a picture of her. "And remind Father to stay off my property unless he wants to be a permanent fixture on the floor of my bedroom!" He slammed the door and locked it. He even got a growl out of Midas and Maggie.

"Good dogs. That was a bad person. I'd let you bite her but you might catch something that my father planted on her in the hopes that you would." He was still fuming from her visit. Rick knew his father and that her visit wasn't one of her own making. His father obviously sent her. It was time to call Grey for that equipment just in case. Still she only made it as far as the living room; the rest of the house should be safe for now.

He also knew that she didn't really need to report back to his father. She likely had already told him every word he said using the bond that fated mates had. Rick wasn't really sure he believed in such nonsense but he couldn't discount it. Still he did believe in the thought of there being one special mate, a fated mate, for each shifter. His only fear, and it wasn't really a fear since he was fine with maybe never finding his, was that his fated mate was another shifter already under his father's thumb.

He also had no doubt that the Hunters that wanted his kind exterminated were also out there. They were yet another reason to get those devices from Grey into the ground as soon as possible.

"Daddy?" Alexis had heard the front door slam shut plus Midas and Maggie had come back downstairs and were acting funny. "Hey pumpkin. We still have more Christmas decorations. What do you say we hang our stockings? Oh, did you write your letter to Santa yet? You know, you only have one more week to mail it or he won't know what you want," he reminded her and they headed to one of the Christmas decoration storage boxes to search for their stockings to hang from the mantle.


	8. Chapter 8

**CH8**

Christmas presents for Alexis:

 _ **Rainbow in my room**_ _\- Glowing rainbow hues are distinct and create an amazing rainbow on any wall! Brilliant colors make any room a cheerful, calming place._

 _ **Make-your-own monster puppet**_ _\- Monster play has never been this fun or this constantly changing! Assemble & reassemble your silly puppet. It's never the same puppet twice!_

 _ **Jeep Revolution BFR-3 Pedal go Kart**_ _\- The Jeep Revolution BFR-3 is a sturdy pedal kart with three gears, back-pedal brake and a unique system that allows you to pedal both forwards and backwards!_

 _ **Cherry Blossom Pink and White Adjustable All-Sport Skate-Style Helmet.**_

 _ **Backyard Discovery Safari All Cedar Swing Set**_ _\- The safari is colossal, enormous, stupendous! It has both of the towers, one with a clubhouse below, the other with a full picnic table underneath. Tower 2 has the balcony up high with a deck and the turbo slide as well as a 14' rocket slide. Tower 1 has the side Sun Porch with a 12' rocket slide. Both towers have 10' rocket slides for the ultimate in sliding fun! The heavy duty double swing beam has four widely-spaced belt swings. The whole set is made from 100% cedar._

"That one won't be here until spring, this is just a card showing you what it will look like after it is assembled." Rick was going to have to pull in a favor or two to get that thing built. That or owe a couple of people big time.

Christmas present for Rick:

 _ **Lamp with Geni inside.**_ "There is a Geni inside Dad. You rub it and he pops out in a big puff of smoke." Alexis reached her arms out wide. "And he grants you wishes… You're alone Dad. If you wish not to be, the Geni will grant your wish," she offered shyly. His little girl's words struck him right in the heart. He never at any time believed Alexis thought he needed someone in his life besides her. Or was this wishing her longing for a mother? Either way Rick cried as he hugged her tightly and let her melt into one of his best hugs he had ever given. "Three wishes huh? What if I only use or need one?" he asked, only to see Alexis shrug her shoulders. She didn't have an answer for that question. "Well, I love it, thank you pumpkin." And kissed her head for the thought that she was concerned for him. Rick was sure she got the idea from the movies that they watch together.

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Sophia was sitting at home eating dinner with her family in the Cathedral Hill area of Minneapolis. She had gotten lucky because her husband, Guy, knew how to cook. Which was a good thing since they owned and operated one of the better restaurants in town. Their restaurant, like a number of restaurants, was closed Christmas Day. They wanted to give their staff the day off. They were probably missing out on having a full restaurant which meant a lot of money. However their staff needed the day off and she and her family could use the day off as well. Her daughter had become a teenager a few months earlier and their son, who was 4 years younger, was into sports. In this case hockey, which meant the family would be going to a hockey game later today.

What her family didn't know was that she was the head of an organization called Paladin. She was at the head of the organization and director of operations that now had members in all 50 states and a few scattered here and there mostly in Europe. They had some of the best and most advanced equipment around. Even the CIA didn't yet have some of the stuff they had access to.

Sophia was enjoying her meal and her time with her family when her burner phone that she always carried rang. "Excuse me." She stood up and went outside into the cold air to get some privacy. "Yes?" This had damn well better be worth it. She was in a good mood and they were going to open their Christmas presents soon. She was dying to find out what her husband had gotten her. She had been hinting at it for weeks. She wouldn't kill him if he hadn't gotten it, but she was going to show him a good time tonight if he did.

"We have a hit," he told her. "How many?" she inquired. "We're going to need everyone on this one, absolutely everyone," he informed her which came as a shock. She had sent Coonan on a simple search mission from a tip they had gotten. He was supposed to find what was likely just a loner and take him or her out and come home. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Explain." Sophia needed details. "I'm in a community just north of Kasilof, Alaska. There's an entire clan out here. I'm thinking someone's son came home for the holidays and now we have a big one," Coonan said. "How big?" Sophia asked yet again, annoyed that she had to repeat herself. She may be the cool mom at home, but when it came to her life's mission, she was anything but cool.

"Just over 100 in a nice tight little community. Complete with stores, restaurants, businesses, and schools. All polar bears," he informed her. Sophia would have cursed up a storm but it was actually good news in a way, only it kept her from finding out what she got for Christmas or making her husband happy later tonight.

"How do we get there?" The first problem was logistics. She wished they had teleporters like on Star Trek, but they didn't. They had to fly and drive just like everyone else. "Fly into Anchorage commercial or private jet. From there take a regional hopper to Soldotna Airport. It's only large enough for twin turbo props or helicopters. That or you drive. It's just over 3 hours by car from Anchorage. You'll need a 4x4 with chains to get here," Coonan advised. "Map out the site and send the data. I'll call everyone I can find and get them there." The problem was that it included her. She had a few select men who were really good and Coonan was one of them. However none of them were a match for her. "This may take 24 hours. I want you to check in every six. And I want that map." Sophia ended the call, went back inside, and headed for her bedroom.

Once there she pulled out her heavily encrypted laptop and began assigning people to commercial flights if she had to, but most will be on private planes. A few jets but mostly twin turbo-props. They were going to need cars if they were going to hit every site at the same time, so everyone was going into Anchorage. In the end she rented every car Avis and Hertz had at the airport she was betting, based on how they treated her. She booked herself a flight to Seattle where she would transfer to a private jet and pick up other members of their organization. In her case she would also pick up her weapons in Seattle as well. Now it was time to tell the family.

"That was the office. I'm needed in Seattle." She decided a half truth was better than an outright lie. Especially when she knew her husband would ask to drive her to the airport."Aw Mom!" her daughter complained, and Sophia doesn't blame her. She's not all that happy to be leaving either. "I know honey, trust me I know. My family is important to me but so is my work. And it pays the bills around here and we happen to have a lot of bills," Sophia added, which was no exaggeration.

They had what might be the only single family detached house (renovated commercial building) in downtown St. Paul. It had 3 patios, one of which was huge and on the roof. There were three wine cellars that presently held 1,235 bottles of wine worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sophia brought them home with her from her countless trips to hunt down and exterminate shifters of all types. She was still amazed that the general public had no knowledge of just how many shifters there were on the planet.

The house also had an open concept gourmet kitchen, a theater room, and a 2 car garage that actually had heated floors. Perfect for those cold winters in St. Paul. There were wood floors throughout, mostly old world exposed brick walls. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were on the second floor and had an open ceiling loft-style look. The theater room was actually on the third floor which took up a third of the floor space. The other two-thirds was the roof deck.

The wine cellars were accessed using an old opened up freight elevator. It was classic and she and her husband loved it. The elevator shaft itself was brick on one side and exposed wood studs on the other three. The wood beams that held up each floor were visible as the elevator passed since it went all the way from the basement to the third floor.

The master bedroom was on one end of the building that faced the street. It was massive with the same open ceiling loft-style look. The two kids' bedrooms were on the ground floor behind the garage and also had heated floors to keep the floor warm. The master bathroom even had her much wanted claw foot tub with an exposed brick wall. Her daughter's bedroom even came with its own wet bar sink and coffee maker. How her daughter got addicted to the stuff she didn't know, but she guessed the restaurant had something to do with it, along with her husband who always pleaded the 5th.

Even the garage had an open beam ceiling and tile floors. It had taken 2 years to complete the restoration to their specifications and had cost them 2.793 million dollars. There were three bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, 3 partial bathrooms, 5,844 square feet of living space not including the garage or patio areas.

Even their cars weren't cheap. Guy had gotten his precious 2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage that he wanted so badly while she got her 2001 BMW X5. Both were the first ones to be delivered to their local dealership. He got his precious sports car while she got the family car. Still she did steal his car from time to time. It had a crème and brown interior with a hint of black. She had to admit it was a beautiful car.

Today however he was driving her BMW because it was 4-wheel drive and it looked like they might need it. "You're sure you have to do this?" Guy asked her standing at the curb with her carry-on next to her. "I'm afraid so. I should be home in 4 days. Just long enough to accomplish what needs to be done and come home. …We can go see fireworks for the first, or just send the kids," Sophia suggested brushing a kiss across his lips. His response was just what she wanted. He held her tight and ravaged her mouth with his tongue. He broke from the kiss. "I like the way you think." Guy was all in for sending the kids to watch the fireworks while they made their own. "I thought I might be able to convince you. Fireworks at home are much more fun," she mentioned and quickly kissed him again.

"I'll have the whip warm and ready along with the tie downs," he offered which actually had Sophia go into a short coughing fit. What that man did to her! He was so perfect and she was so lucky to have found him. She wished she didn't have to keep secrets from him. She just didn't want to risk what her family thought if they found out she was an expert in killing people who happened to be able to shift into another form.

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Sophia stepped into the building that her organization owned and found 18 people already there. "It must be big," one of them stated. "What are we looking at?" he asked his question since none of them knew anything other than to come here. "A hundred plus polar bears in a little town south of Anchorage, Alaska," Sophia informed them as she went to the weapons locker. "That makes it what, the biggest site to date?" one of them commented. "The largest concentration of polar bears we've ever had. I don't need to remind you to be careful. The only thing more dangerous than a polar bear alone is a Kodiak bear. A hundred plus makes this mission even more dangerous. Remember to take your vests with you and plug them in when we get there."

"We're flying to Anchorage and then driving for 3 hours to meet up with Coonan who is on site," Sophia explained as she put on her holster that housed 2 small SIGs behind her back just above her ass. Another went in her ankle holster. Those three were her back-ups while her primary weapon was what she was checking out now.

Half of them were checking their Cornershot weapons. They each fired a .40 S&W round. Some had detachable cameras, audio/video transmission kits, IR lasers. All of them had suppressors since they didn't want anyone showing up to interfere in their operation. A few had a 40 mm grenade launcher underneath. In her case she had selected the Kompakt .223 made by ST Kiril Armory. It fired a 5.56x40mm at 550 rounds per minute and had a magazine capacity of 20. Like all of the primary weapons, hers already had a suppressor attached. Then she put on a vest that held 6 extra clips with 3 on each side.

Eventually another 12 people joined her making it 31 people total in Seattle. Eight of them were women including herself. They had three vans waiting for them to drive them to a private airstrip where they had four twin turbo props waiting and since of the 31 people here, 6 of them knew how to fly, they didn't need an outside pilot. Another 18 were flying in from Vancouver, British Columbia, using 3 more planes, and another 12 from San Francisco using 2 additional planes. It was everyone west of Missouri that she could call in on short notice. Sixty-one heavily armed men and women would be up against 100 plus of the most dangerous shifters she had ever encountered. Only Kodiak bears were more feared.

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True to his word Dick Coonan had been sending her updates of the map he was creating of the bears' compound and was studying them on her laptop. They were spread out a little more than she was hoping for. They were actually in individual homes which made this trip that much more dangerous. Timed incorrectly with everyone spread out all over the place, no one on her team would have any hope of getting backup if they called for it. She needed a plan.

Sophia and her team were traveling in SUVs when she got the final update from Coonan. "Good man!" she remarked enthusiastically. It was just the piece she needed for the plan forming in her mind. Every member had a headset to communicate with each other provided one team didn't over use it, which they shouldn't do because they were all well trained. She had them breaking up into smaller teams than first planned. Save for one big one.

It was Christmas morning and this community had a church which she had Coonan to get eyes on and keep her updated. Sophia smiled when Coonan reported a large number of the community were attending Christmas morning services. They would all die in the eyes of God, proving to Him that shifters should never have been created in the first place. As part of a guess, she and 3 other members of her team would be heading to the elementary school. If this place was anything like when her children were growing up, there would be a craft-making class taking place in the school. They just had to take care of the people who didn't do either, provided she was right.

They didn't need to do the op simultaneously since they were spread out so much. As each team finished they were ordered to drive back to Anchorage for the flight out.

For her part Sophia found 11 children in the school and 3 adults taking care of them. It was all too easy to simply walk in with 2 more of her team and gun them down on full auto. They each only had to change clips once as they walked the area putting another round in each body just to make sure they were dead.

Listening to the radio told her that things went well as the church only had 2 ways in not including the windows. Two of her team sent to the church stayed outside to cover the windows who actually didn't get to fire a shot. Three went into the church through the front door while another two entered through the back. Everyone inside was gunned down with almost no problem. The ability of shifters to change quickly enough and the amount of rounds it took to kill them after they changed, got four of the five inside injured, two of them severely. Things went south because of the people who weren't at either location. Out of those areas Sophia lost a total of 16 people. Fourteen men and two women.

The polar bears, once shifted, had gone from home to home helping out their neighbors. Because of that her teams were overrun though it sounded like a few of the shifters had been injured. Overall it was a success, however the fact that they didn't get all of them meant this group was going to be even harder to find again. Her losses only meant they had to be replaced; other than that the loss meant nothing to her.

To avoid encountering the local law enforcement they spent the night in the hanger near their planes. Since she lost 2 of her pilots, 2 of the planes had to be left behind. Still even that loss didn't faze her any. They had learned a lesson today and Sophia was going to learn from it for next time. Still at least she hadn't lost Dick Coonan, Hal Lockwood, Cole Maddox, or Josh Davidson. They had all survived the mission.

Once back in Seattle they split up and Sophia checked into a Best Western Hotel. It wasn't up to her standards but it also meant they didn't have security cameras all over the place. "Hi babe, how are the kids?" She phoned home the second she was settled in her room. "They're doing great. They're off enjoying their Christmas gifts which reminds me," Guy started off and Sophia finished for him. "All of mine are still unopened."

"As is one of mine," Guy told her. "...the one I got you," she said, not guessing. She knew her husband. "I'll be home tomorrow, we pushed through and finished early." Sophia said. "I'll pick you up at the airport and arrange for the kids to be out with friends. I expect you to be naked and in our bed the second you hit the bedroom door," he informed her. "Tied to the bed with a whip in your hand?" Sophia teased because she so wanted her husband to take over in the bedroom again.

The first time had been a surprise that she hadn't been so sure of. Sophia was used to being in control and relinquishing that control even to her loving husband had been difficult. Now she wanted to be tied down to the bed and have her husband do amazing things to her body while she screamed out her orgasms.

"What are you doing now?" Guy asked her, just to ask. "I'm slowly stripping off my clothes while swinging my hips from side to side," she offered teasingly. "What color are your bra and panties?" he asked since he had a preference. "Red, of course. Nice, loud, fuck-me-senseless red," she told him, knowing his favorite color choice. Hers had been black but she had learned to love red. She could hear her husband moan. "I slip out of my bra and play with my breasts, pinching my nipples til they are flaming red and hard, waiting for your mouth and tongue," she teased.

"Now I'm slowly pulling down my soaking wet panties because I can see your magnificent erection that's soon going to be in my mouth." Sophia could just see her husband's hand on his erection through his pants as she talked. "I can just see a tiny amount of pre-come on the tip of your…" Sophia's phone went beep, beep. "DAMN IT! I'm down to 10% battery left," she had to tell him. "NOOOOO!" he groaned. "I'm sorry baby but I need to plug in my phone and let it charge." She didn't want to. What she wanted to do was finish with her fingers buried inside her as she screamed out her husband's name.

"I'll take it out on you with the whip when you get home. I'll have you screaming in no time," he told her. "I'm looking forward to it. I have to go babe before my phone does it for me. I love you. Kiss the kids for me," she said. "I love you too and I'll see you at the airport. I'll be waiting for your call," he replied and ended the call. Guy moaned after he hung up. Now he had to wait for tomorrow. Sophia went into the bathroom to take off her now-wet panties and decided to take a shower. It took all of her self-control not to take matters into her own fingers and wait for her husband.

Getting to sleep after that phone call turned out to be difficult for both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

**CH9**

They still had some snow on the ground though there was less and less each day. The slow rise in temperature was melting it away. Still it got rather cold each night like tonight.

Rick was just about finished cooking dinner when the doorbell rang, followed by Midas and Maggie flying up the stairs where they were watching over Alexis, Paige, and Jenny. Alexis had asked him if she could have another sleep over tonight and of course he had immediately agreed. Paige and Jenny were turning out to be his little girl's two most favorite friends. He hadn't seen the other two from her birthday party since and hadn't heard Alexis talk about them, so he hadn't asked her about them.

"Midas, Maggie, that's enough you two," he said which was enough to get both of them to stop barking, still they wanted to find out who was at the door. It turned out to be the UPS driver who had three good sized boxes that Rick signed for and carried into the living room. He didn't remember ordering anything, so he wasn't certain what this was. He went into the kitchen and turned down the stove, grabbed a knife to cut the tape, and opened one of them. Once it was open he saw a large number of smaller boxes which all of them had the name Qual-Tron Inc. on one side and a circle that had QTI in the middle and MMIDS, MIDS and EMIDS across the top arch with Intrusion Detection in the bottom arch. "Grey!" Now Rick understood. "Just how many of these do I need?" he wondered.

It looked like there were 24 in this box and opening another box he found 24 smaller boxes while that last box had 8 larger boxes and a letter:

 _Hey Rick._

 _You don't get the warranty since you don't have these. Enclosed you will find a map showing GPS coordinates where to place each of the sensors and relays. Your 179+ acres is too large without using relays to send the signal to the house. Each relay has a solar panel and a battery back-up. The solar panel will recharge the battery on a good day. I've given you a few spare sensors just in case. Instructions on how to install each sensor is enclosed as is how to install the relays._

 _I don't know what it is you are trying to keep an eye out for, but this will detect anything natural or un-natural that is larger than the average German Shepard._

 _Once you have each sensor buried at the proper depth and each relay installed, install the enclosed software into your laptop and follow the prompts._

 _Good luck my friend. Remember I expect that invitation and please say hi and kiss Alexis for me._

 _~Grey_

Rick found the map which was in color. It even had elevation lines and a boundary line of the 179 acres that he owned. There were a lot of locations to bury the sensors and the locations of the relays. "How did he get…?" He shook his head. Was nothing sacred in this country? It looked like a heck of a lot of work. Thankfully since the snow was melting, it made the ground softer so digging now should be easier on him, he reasoned. "Guess I know what I'm doing while Alexis is at school Monday," he said to himself.

"TIME FOR DINNER GIRLS!" Rick yelled down the stairs. "Did you wash your hands?" he asked as soon as they entered the kitchen. The three girls ran for the half bath near the front door.

After washing their hands and faces from dinner, he asked, "Movie?" and got three heads nodding. "You pick a movie and I'll be right back," Rick told them. Just as they decided on a movie, they got a pile of blankets, followed by sheets, and then several pillows. "Build a fort that allows you to see the TV girls, you're on your own this time. Show me what you've got!" he encouraged.

After they had finished their fort Rick shoved their sleeping bags inside. "Change into your pajamas girls. Tell me when you're ready and I'll start the movie," he told them and headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later he heard Alexis yell, "READY DAD!" He walked out into the living room to turn on the TV and the movie.

Rick was cleaning up in the kitchen when he heard a door slam and waited to see what it was only to see Jenny come out of the half bath near the front door and run for the fort and crawl in. About half way through the movie he showed up at the fort's entrance where the 3 girls were lying on their stomachs on top of their sleeping bags watching the movie. "Snack time! Oreo cookies and a glass of milk," Rick offered and set a plate with 3 cookies each and a small glass of milk in front of each girl. "Thanks Dad," Alexis told him and picked up a cookie. "Thanks Mr. Rodgers," the other two echoed. "Brush your teeth after you're done," he reminded them.

Shortly thereafter he carried the boxes downstairs. Once there he filled one of Alexis's backpacks with several of the sensors, boxes, and paperwork. Installing this system was going to take him at least a few days he guessed. He just hoped it worked like he wanted it to.

The movie was over and he found sleeping girls just inside their fort, so he left them there then turned off the player and the TV. He went upstairs, got his laptop out, and did a search for a GPS unit. Finding one he liked, he placed an overnight order.

The next morning Rick served up oatmeal with a touch of cinnamon, blueberries, and slices of banana to the girls. Alexis ate hers without saying a word. The other girls looked at it like it was an alien food that was going to eat them from the inside out. "Have you never had oatmeal before?" he asked and got two shaking heads. "Give it a try and if you don't like it we can try Froot Loops instead," he offered and served himself some Raisin Bran. When he turned back Alexis was almost done and the other two were catching up fast.

The doorbell rang and he hurried to the front door where he found both mothers. "Jenny, Paige, your mothers are here. It's time to go home," Rick called. "Have they been any trouble?" he was asked. "No trouble at all. It's been fun having them over," he confirmed. "Are you sure? It looks like your living room is a disaster area," Vicki said. "Is that one of those forts Jenny has told me about?" Veronica questioned. "Yeah, I've found that Alexis loves them and it gives them a place that's all their own instead of having to share with the grown-ups," he explained. "I'm not sure my husband will go for that, but we can try it. …Ready to go honey?" she asked Paige and got a nod. "What do you say?" she prompted Paige. "Thank you Mr. Rodgers, it was fun," Paige said followed by Jenny saying thank you. "You two are welcome, you can come back over anytime," Rick told them.

"Did you have fun pumpkin?" he asked her after everyone was gone and watched her nod enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. "Ready for school tomorrow?" he inquired. "Yep. I read my story, did my writing worksheet, and addition worksheet." Alexis was still smiling. "Do you miss New York?" Rick asked, wondering if she was adapting to her new home and school. "It's nice here Dad. The school is smaller. There's less noise and we can see the stars at night," she remarked. "No problems with your teacher or other students?" and watched as she shook her head. "In that case let's get you into the tub and get you clean. Then we're going into town to do some grocery shopping." He needed milk and other perishables. Alexis flew up the stairs. Going into town usually meant having pizza for lunch at the Pizza Barn!

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Today Kate and Johanna were scheduled to fly to Rapid City, South Dakota. They were going to rent a car to visit the two houses they had selected from what the realtor had sent them. It was the blue house with the white picket fence that had Kate shocked. Finding out that it was actually a house turned into 2 apartments with one on the ground floor and one on the second was what sold it for both of them. It meant that that each could have their own space and for Kate, it didn't feel like she was living with her mother again. She had her own space that was close enough that she could keep track of her mother to make sure that she was eating and living.

They made their offer in the realtor's office and drove back to Rapid City where they stayed in a hotel and flew back the next day. It was while they were in New York that they negotiated the price. The realtor faxed the paperwork for them to sign and the house was theirs. The only thing left was to pack what they were taking and sell or donate everything else for tax purposes.

That was followed by Kate having her little going away party at the 12th Precinct. The very next day they both flew out to Denver, bought Johanna's Jeep and the motorhome then drove to their new home. Armed with the keys, Kate parked the motorhome in the RV barn out back finding that their motorhome just barely fit. From there she rode with her mother over to Rapid City where she bought her Jeep. They spent the night in Rapid City before Johanna followed Kate back to their new home. Kate had already bought both of them portable Garmin GPS units since they didn't know where anything was in the area.

The home came completely furnished including everything in both kitchens. The refrigerator and freezers were empty while the pantry still had a number of items in it. They stopped at the grocery store and bought everything they thought they would need. They had their suitcases with a week's worth of clothes in them. Everything else was scheduled to show up a week.

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Rick once again turned left instead of right after picking up Alexis from school on Monday. He got out and walked around the place, checking to see that the doors were locked and none of the windows were broken. He never did go out to the RV barn since he hadn't noticed it and didn't know it was there. And since most of the snow was gone now there were no tracks leading to it. He was satisfied and got back in the truck and saw Alexis's sad face. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I really am, but they moved away to be with their daughter. Maybe someone will buy it who makes cookies," he said, not sure anyone was going to buy it.

After all who buys houses out in the middle of nowhere?

What he found when he got home was a bit of a surprise. There was a large 18-wheeler that said ABF on the side. The driver and his helper were unloading box after box onto his driveway. "Can I help you?" He didn't understand what they were doing. "Richard Rodgers?" he asked then followed up with Rick's address. "Yes, that's correct," Rick responded still perplexed. "Sign here please after you confirm delivery off of the packing slip," he instructed and the two of them continued to unload boxes and stack them up while Rick read. "It's the play-set!" Now he understood. He started counting boxes and checking them off on the packing slip, matching was supposed to arrive with what he got. After confirming everything, he signed for the delivery and watched them back the large rig all the way back out to 85. "I don't think I'll ever be that good," he said to himself, knowing that one day he was going to have to back his trailer into a campsite and that it was likely going to take him several attempts.

"Now just where do I get help to put this thing together?" Rick had a problem to solve. "What's that Dad?" Alexis had watched the entire thing and now they had a huge pile of boxes blocking access to the trailer. They weren't going camping until all of those boxes got moved. "That, daughter of mine, is your Christmas present. I gave you a playground set that you couldn't have til spring," Rick reminded her. Alexis looked at the giant pile of boxes and wondered how she was supposed to play on that many boxes and why her dad got them for her. It must have been the tilt of her head that gave him a clue. "It's all in pieces inside those boxes; I just need to get it out of the boxes and get it put together," he explained since this Christmas present gave new meaning to the phrase 'Some assembly required.' "Ooohhh!" she exclaimed, very excited.

Looking at Alexis gave him an idea. "Hop back in the truck pumpkin, we're going to go see someone," he told her and selected the home of Vicki and Paige on his Garmin. He got lucky and Vicki answered the door. "Mr. Rodgers?" She hadn't been expecting him. "Is your husband here? I have a request to ask of you three," Rick said. He was soon leaving for home after Vicki and her husband promised to call Jenny's parents and give them the same offer Rick gave them in exchange for helping him erect his playset that Paige and Jenny would also be using when they came over. He was going to cook outside on the grill for all of them, plus he owed them a favor that they could call in at any time of their choosing. He was guessing it would take at least three weekends to complete this monstrosity let alone moving the boxes to the build site.

Rick had just made it into the kitchen when his phone rang. "Hi Mr. Rodgers, we've talked with Veronica and her husband and they've agreed to help us put Alexis's giant playset together according to the terms you offered us," Vicki told him. "That's great! I really owe you guys and I mean it. Anything, anytime, and I'll be there and do it. How about next weekend, not this weekend coming up, provided the weather cooperates. Otherwise we'll just delay it a week," he suggested and could hear her talking to her husband. "We'll be there. We'll call Veronica and coordinate the timing. We'll bring Paige's bicycle that still has training wheels on it and get Veronica to do the same, unless Alexis doesn't have one." Vicki didn't want the girls doing something Alexis couldn't. "Alexis doesn't have a bicycle but she does have something similar so it should be fine," Rick told her. "Perfect! Then we'll see you in about two weeks," Vicki replied and closed the door after they stepped outside.

Well, that was one problem down. Hopefully five heads, 10 arms, and 5 backs would be enough to get it built. "CRAP, I'm going to need tools," he slumped. Living in his loft in New York meant he didn't need this stuff. He just made a phone call and someone came out to fix it. "I'm going to need a lawnmower too." He hung his head, wondering why he moved out here in the first place.

He dropped Alexis off at school the next morning. "Have a good day pumpkin, I love you." He kissed her cheek while they were still in the truck. "I love you too Dad." She hopped down from the truck and went into the school. Then he drove over to the local hardware store and came back out with a whole lot of stuff. Cordless drill, cordless circular saw, extra batteries for both tools, a black case that had a socket set, a second black case that had a wrench set inside it, and another that had a set of screwdrivers.

Next came a trip to the only store he knew about that might have lawnmowers and was soon helping to put a riding lawnmower into the back of his truck using the tire ramps that he also had to purchase with which to get it in and out of the truck. Then he saw something else on his way out of town. It was a motorcycle store but it wasn't the motorcycles that caught his interest. It was the quads that they also had that caught his eye. The fact that he didn't know what he'd do with it or how often he would use it didn't even get consideration. Worse, the itch to buy one overrode his need to start installing those sensors today.

He put his new toys in the garage and went back to look at quads. It was only when the owner of the store was asking what he wanted to use a quad for in order to help him decide what type of quad he needed, that got Rick thinking about using it to get around his 179 acres to install those sensors. He drove home about an hour later with his latest purchase along with a 5 gallon can of gas for the mower and the quad.

 **Honda FourTrax® Rincon® Olive** And it only cost him $7,148.00 dollars.

First up though was time for lunch then he would start the job of burying his sensors.

Rick quickly found the only real trick to this was figuring out where he was exactly via the GPS unit and where he was on the map Grey had given him that had the location of of where to place the sensors on it. His running the perimeter, or what he thought was his perimeter, as a Kodiak bear in the snow had felt liberating and the animal within him had thanked him over and over again.

He had even let the animal within him toboggan down a hill over and over again. It was sufficiently inside his property that he felt safe enough not to be observed by his father or any of his people. Other than that, he let the animal inside him take over for a couple of hours.

Rick had at least spent some time putting batteries in every one sensor that he had brought out here with him. He didn't like the idea of coming back out here and digging them up just so he could replace the stupid battery in them. He was just finishing covering one of them up when he looked at his watch. "OH SHIT! Alexis is going to kill me!" He grabbed his back pack, strapped to his quad then started it up and rode back home straight to his truck. He was already late and hadn't even left yet.

He found Alexis sitting on the concrete up against the wall next to the main doors, looking dejected. "I'm sorry Alexis, so very sorry. I got caught up in what I was doing that I lost track of time."

"EEWWW, you're a mess Dad." Alexis was more concerned about what he looked like than his being late. Her reaction got Rick to look at himself and he started chuckling. His knees were caked in mud, his hands were dirty, and he still had mud on his boots, not to mention the bits of grass and mud that were in his hair. The bear in him however was absolutely happy. "I am, aren't I," he chuckled and waved at the lady standing inside the doors who had been watching over Alexis while she sat outside. "Let's go home, I'll take a shower and we can play one of your board games before dinner. How does that sound?" he offered, getting Alexis to agree.

"What's that?" Alexis saw something new in their driveway. "Oh that. It's called a quad and I'm using it to help with a project I'm working on. Plus we're going to use it to move the boxes to the backyard and set up your playset in a couple of weeks," he explained.

"Oh," she said quietly. She was kind of hoping it was hers, even if it was too big for her. Still a kid could dream, right?


	10. Chapter 10

**CH10**

All of my stories are AU and only loosely based on Canon. The first few chapters of any story i do provide you with who and what the characters are in my stories. Since this is not canon Rick Castle, Kate Beckett, Alexis Castle or even Martha Rodgers, the reader needs to read this difference. What you call dragging, i call character development. How do you expect to understand what the characters react to or why if you don't understand these characters? Read and RELAX! It's all free here. I don't get paid to write and you didn't have to spend money to read it. If you're confused about what is happening go back and re-read it all, only this time don't skip paragraphs like last time.

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Rick settled into a pattern of sorts: Drive Alexis to school and drive home and work on his book. Use his new quad to drive out to the perimeter of his land and bury the sensors in the ground. Drive back to the school and pick up Alexis. Drive back home with a detour, turning left instead of right, and check on the empty house like he had promised. The sign out front still said "For Sale." He would drive home and play with his daughter, have fun and make her laugh. Cook dinner, put her to bed, and go back to working on his book.

Then there was a slight change. Instead of planting sensors, he was setting up relays towards the middle of his property. He had to drive galvanized rods deep into the ground, way past 4 feet. Next he had to mount the box that housed the electronics to the rods. After that was done he attached the solar power panel and plugged it into the slot indicated on his piece of paper and that was it. It took him just two days to complete the relay installations. When he was done, he and Alexis packed up and drove to Rapid City, never noticing the white Jeep Grand Cherokee or the dark green Jeep just behind it.

Once there, they flew to Los Angeles. He had a meeting with a publisher that was interested in taking over the Derek Storm series from Black Pawn. It only took one meeting for them to come to terms that Rick would accept, but, of course, he wouldn't sign anything until he had a lawyer look over every word of it. His New York lawyer was only too happy to look over the contract that night that Rick sent him in pdf format and said he would get back to Rick the next day. It gave Rick a chance to take Alexis down to a beach and soak up some sun and play in the surf.

His lawyer made a few changes that Rick presented to the publisher who accepted everything and promptly cut him a check that included what would have been a cash advance if he had come to them before he had finished. The publisher was more than happy to have a completed Derek Storm book in their hands. Rick would receive royalty checks based on the sales. The more books that sold the bigger the quarterly checks would be. He also had an advance for his next book and a contract for the next two Derek Storm books with a third as an option for both of them based on sales. That third book would have a separate contract based on sales of the other 2 books. It made Rick happy. He'd had a lot of money going out lately with no real money coming in save for the royalty checks from Black Pawn from the sales of his older books.

The new publisher had no problem with his request to be Rick Rodgers and write Derek Storm books under the Richard Castle name since that was the name his readers knew. Except now he was a ghost writer instead of writing as himself.

They flew back to Rapid City the next day and drove back home. Alexis had only missed one day of school but she was anxious about it. "You'll make it up pumpkin. It was only one day and I needed to get my book published," Rick said trying to console her about missing school. It was late in the day for Alexis so, after a quick snack, Rick sent her to bed then came to tuck her in and kiss her good night. It had been a long day for her and she was already asleep by the time he kissed her. "I love you pumpkin," he said softly not expecting an answer.

Come morning Rick had Alexis get in the tub. Soon she was clean and dry and getting dressed in the clothes he left for her on the bed. She came downstairs to the smell of pancakes which made her smile. Having eaten her one overly gooey pancake that was floating in maple syrup, a satisfied and happy Alexis was being dropped off at school. "Have a good day at school, I love you," Rick wished for her. "Love you too, Dad." And Alexis clambered down out of the truck, slammed the door closed, and ran into the school building.

He didn't ever remember being that enthusiastic about going to school. On the contrary, he thought up plans on how to play hooky and dreamed of places he would rather live. Anyplace that didn't have his father there. Thinking of his father had him drive home in a sour mood. When he got there, he went directly to his laptop to review the software for the sensors to see if any of them had tripped while he was gone. Seeing that none of them had been tripped and all of them appeared to be working, he left the laptop on and started working on an outline for his next book.

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Rick was engrossed in his new outline when he heard his laptop beeping at him. He immediately changed screens to see what was going on. One of his sensors had gone off indicating that he had a breach. Checking the map to see where the breach was got him to calm down a little. It was at the drive's entrance off of US85, telling him that it was a car. He immediately thought of Vicki or Veronica but wondered why they hadn't just called. He went back to his outline, saved it, then went outside and waited at the end of the pile of boxes that was Alexis's playset.

He saw a car he wasn't familiar with drive up. It was a very clean Land Rover which instantly had his ire up and he could hear the animal within him roaring as his blood burned. It made him wonder why he had silenced the animal within him for so long after feeling his blood burn as it pulsed in his veins. "It took me to have my own daughter to defend my honor for me to understand. I'm sorry." Rick told the bear within him. "But I'm listening now." He felt and almost heard the roar ring through his body. It was the bear within him that had gotten him to defy his father when he was old enough to make it on his own. New York and the money he earned had tamed him and he had forced the bear to be silent. Now he was listening again and his bear hated his father even more than he did.

He watched the car pull up and stop as his father turned off the car and began opening the door to get out. Rick rushed the car door and kicked it closed, putting a large dent in the door panel. His father's precious car that he likely had one of his slaves wash clean at least twice before driving out here was now damaged. His father looked out the window and showed his teeth and growled at him. "I'm sure Mother informed you what would happen to you if you set a foot on my property HUNT. Since you're still in your car you have done what I told you not to do. You step out of that car and I _**will**_ have your skin on my bedroom floor," Rick growled back and moved back so that his father couldn't use the car door as a weapon but Rick still could if he was quick enough.

The window rolled down. "That's Lord Hunt or father to you, son," Hunt growled at him."You are no father to me. You never were and only your slaves call you Lord. Leave and don't come back before I add your car to the deal," Rick told him and bared his teeth. "So the cub thinks he can take me. I didn't come here to fight, son, we need to talk." Hunt started to open the door yet again, secure in his superiority over everyone including his son. Rick, however, roared and slammed his entire body into the car door, shattering the window and crushing the door so that it would never open again. Hunt roared at him and looked set to change form and end this now. "Leave now before I turn you into a rug that I'll wipe my feet clean on before going to bed." Rick started to strip off his clothes until all he had left were his pants and shoes.

Hunt knew changing now would ruin his clothes which meant nothing, but the car was too small for his animal form. He would be pinned inside it leaving his son with the first strike and possibly a second. "Last chance Hunt!" Rick growled at him and spat on the ground showing his disdain for the name. "This isn't over son," Hunt informed him. "You have no son and it _**is**_ over unless your desire to be a rug is that strong. I remember your beatings. I suggest you remember this day and stay away! Send your slaves if you wish but I will adorn the walls and floor of my garage with their hides," Rick warned him fiercely.

"And that bastard of a child and her friends?" Hunt taunted.

Threatening Alexis was the final straw. Rick roared and unleashed his bear. His pants were shredded, his socks and shoes nothing but pieces as he furiously pounded Hunt's car to get at him. He began battering and literally ripping huge gashes in Hunt's car. The entire side was caved in along with the top pressing down on Hunt as Rick went wild and took out his anger on the car.

Hunt had no intention of just taking this, but all he saw were pieces of his car ripped into sharp points mostly pointed at him. He had vastly underestimated his son. Richard was fighting with power but he was in control. He was swiftly being trapped in his own car. True he could easily change shape busting out of his car when he did, wrecking it. However if he did that now he'd force pieces of his car into his body weakening him to the point where even the bitch that cleaned his house for him could defeat him. The next thing Hunt knew he was spinning as his car tumbled around him. He cried out in pain as some of those pieces did in fact pierce his body, a few pieces going in deep. Rick never stopped rolling the car until it was passed the sensor location.

Rick stared into what was left of the car and found his father trapped inside with a number of pieces of the car penetrating his body. He could finish him now easily, but he wasn't a murderer unlike his father. However he reached in a paw and raked his claws down the front of his father's human face leaving behind wide, deep gouges that bled badly. He snarled at Hunt then turned and bounded up his road towards home. He had given his father his message, it only remained to be seen if his father listened to it. Or had his father only learned to despise what his son had become even more?

A short while later found Rick in the shower with warm water running over him as he tried to calm down, feeling the bear inside him swelling with pride, still flushed with victory and the message they had sent his father. Shifting had made him very hungry, he felt as though he was starving in fact. So after he got out of the shower and dressed, he took a thick porterhouse steak out of the freezer, defrosted it and fired up the grill out back. He added a potato to the grill and placed a pan with corn on the left side burner and another pan with baked beans on the right side burner. He was glad that he'd bought a grill with 2 side burners.

It took him almost no time at all to eat his steak which was just a touch bloody, all of the corn and beans along with the potato swimming in butter. He used a slice of bread to wipe his plate clean and ate that too. Rick got out a bottle of Summer Honey Ale that he had found and chugged it down without stopping. It was brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company in Missoula. The honey flavor combined with a spicy taste had made it his new favorite and made him wonder why he had ever drunk the other stuff that he now thought tasted more like piss water.

He pulled out another bottle and went back to his laptop to check the sensors which only showed where Rick had ejected his father from his land, otherwise the place was clear. It did make him think about what would have happened if he hadn't been using his laptop at the time. He needed to fix that.

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Rick was waiting outside his truck as he watched a little head of long orangish-red hair come running his way and end up in his arms. He gave Alexis a hug that he meant to surpass all other hugs he had ever given her. For her part Alexis simply melted into her father and relished getting a hug from him. "How was school?" Rick asked her after leaning back a bit but still holding onto her. "It was great Dad!" Alexis told him. "Oh, what was the greatest part of school?" He was curious to hear this part.

"Paige and Jenny asked when we were going camping, and then Stephanie and Judy asked if they could come too." Alexis was so excited. She had girls in her school that were asking to spend time with her! "Stephanie and Judy?" Rick asked since he didn't think he had met them before. He was going to have to meet their parents long before he was going to let them come camping with them. "From my birthday party," she explained. "Ah!" Now he knew who they were. But he had only met their mothers when they dropped them off and picked them up. He was going to need more contact than that and probably their parents would want more too. An overnight stay was one thing, taking their children camping with him was another.

"Well, we'll see. We have to plan and coordinate with their parents first. Their parents have to agree to this, you know." He didn't want her to get her hopes up too high. "I know Dad. …Does that mean they can come?" Alexis asked excitedly skipping past getting the parents' approval part. "After we all decide on a date, where to go, and if their parents approve, sure. Even though there are enough beds, it's going to be snug with us, four more girls, and two dogs, unless you've forgotten that Midas and Maggie need to come too," Rick pointed out. Alexis, however, only heard "Yes" and launched herself at her father and hugged him. "Thanks Dad!" It was only after she let go of her father that she had to admit to herself she had forgotten about Midas and Maggie. Now she had something to worry about.

Rick did what he had been doing for weeks and turned left instead of right to check on the Sanders house since he hadn't been here the past three days. He drove past the sign that still said "For Sale". But when he got close to the house he found a white Jeep Cherokee and a dark green Jeep Wrangler parked in front of the garage. "Looks like we have company today," he remarked as he parked behind both vehicles blocking them in.

"You stay in the truck and keep the door locked. Do _not_ get out unless I tell you to, understand?" Rick tried to sound serious. It must have worked since Alexis nodded and watched him go to the front door. He was hoping one car was a realtor and the other a prospective buyer, otherwise this could get ugly. He could feel the bear in him getting ready. Rick knocked on the door and waited. In a short time a vision of beauty opened the door. Just the sight of her had him turning into a puddle of goo and she hadn't even said a word yet.

Kate had been trying to get her mother to see her point of view when there was a knock on their front door. She wondered who it could be and was betting it was their realtor for some reason. She opened the door and found an extremely handsome, really big man standing there. He had to be at least 6' 5" tall and had a huge chest with massive arms. She instantly melted into a puddle. The new voice in the back of her head was telling her he was 'Perfect!'

She recovered first and ignored the voice. "Can I help you?" she asked, watching his bright blue eyes penetrate hers. He shook his head to clear his mind and pushed his bear down a little so he could at least talk to her. "I'm Richard Rodgers and I live across the road. I promised Celia and Lyle who used to live here that I would watch over the house after they were gone. I've been driving by and walking the perimeter for weeks," he managed to get out. "That's amazingly sweet of you," Kate replied, liking his actions already. "My mother and I bought the place about a week ago. It's perfect for us. It even came furnished with everything so we didn't have to move much. We're expecting everything else in about a week," she explained.

"Do you want to come in?" Kate offered and stepped aside a little to allow him to enter. "That would be nice." However he moved away from her and waved in a manner that suggested that someone was to join him. Soon enough Kate saw a little girl with an interesting hair color come running up and latch onto his leg. "This is my daughter Alexis. Alexis this is…" Rick stumbled since he didn't know her name. "Oh, I'm Kate Beckett and my mother is Johanna. Come on in." She stepped back even further to allow both of them inside. "MOM! We have company," she called which got Johanna to walk out of the bedroom that she was moving her things into.

Johanna walked into the living room and froze in place. There was a really big man in their house with a little girl. But it was the man that had her attention. She knew exactly who he was. "Mother this is Richard…" Her mother interrupted her. "Castle," she finished for Kate and walked right up to him. "I love your books. I think I've even got a signed copy around somewhere. Well, I will have when the rest of our things get here," Johanna told him. She only ever actually saw him sitting at a table signing books and had no idea he was this big. "I thought you said your name was Rodgers?" Kate said, confronting him as her detective skills kicked in.

"It's kind of a long story. I wanted to get out of New York and changed my name so that people couldn't follow me or harass my daughter," he tried to explain. "My daughter and I moved here from New York City too. It's a small world," Johanna said. "Please sit and please tell me you are still writing," she asked hopefully. Rick sat on the sofa facing the fireplace with Alexis next to him while Kate and Johanna took the chairs. "Actually I have another book coming out in a few months with a new publisher. That's one of the reasons why I moved." He wasn't ready to talk about Black Pawn in depth and they had no reason to know at the moment.

"Excellent! Maybe I can get it signed now that the author lives near here. You do live near here?" Johanna queried. "Alexis and I live directly across US85 from you. Just turn right coming from town instead of left and you can't miss us," Rick said. "Just you and Alexis? No wife?" Johanna asked which got Kate to raise her eyebrows and glare daggers at her mom. "I don't have a mommy." Alexis spoke for the first time, which had both Kate and Johanna's hearts breaking. "I'm divorced. I haven't seen or heard from my ex-wife since Alexis was a year old. She doesn't remember her," Rick explained.

Kate didn't know why she did it but she had her arms out and soon found Alexis in them allowing her to hug Alexis tightly. Something inside her told her to protect this child with all that she had. Johanna was shocked since she had never seen her daughter hold anyone's little girl.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be tough on both of you," Johanna said. "We do fine and she means more to me than anything or anyone. I was a little worried that she wouldn't like living here, but she's made a few new friends and we've had them over for sleepovers a couple of times," Rick remarked. "We're all going camping soon!" Alexis offered since she was still beyond excited about it especially since Paige, Jenny, and the other two girls had done the asking and not her. "That hasn't been decided yet pumpkin." He tried to tamp down her excitement since they were not likely going anywhere soon. "And not until school is over anyway," he reminded her.

"We have a motorhome," Johanna said and got a death glare from Kate who, Johanna noticed, was still holding onto Alexis. "You could come with us if you want. It'll be us and possibly 4 other girls and our 2 dogs. We still need to decide on when and where but you are more than welcome to come too." Rick could feel the bear inside him silently pleading for them to say yes. "You make the arrangements, tell us when and where, and we'll be right behind you. Right Katie?" Johanna smiled at Kate who was still glaring at her but hadn't let go of Alexis. "Perfect, now I have even more reason to talk to their parents. Maybe with two more adults going they'll feel better about letting their girls come with us," Rick surmised.

Alexis turned her head to look at Kate who still had her arms around her and she was liking it. It felt different than her father but it was a different kind of nice. "Do you make cookies?"

"Celia, the elderly woman who used to live here, made cookies that Alexis adored," Rick explained. "I don't make cookies sweetie, I'm sorry. But my mother is an expert cookie maker," Kate said, smiling at Alexis. "You'd know how to make cookies Katie if you had paid attention while I was teaching you," Johanna teased Kate who frowned at her mother. "I'm sure I can come up with some cookies for you to eat next time," Johanna offered, noticing that Kate was still holding onto Alexis.

"We should be getting home. I need to fix dinner and Alexis probably has homework. Would you two like to join us? We're just across the road; you could even walk it if you wanted to walk that far," Rick suggested. "Oh, we couldn't…" Kate began since she didn't want to impose, however her mother interrupted her. "We haven't gone grocery shopping yet Katie. All we have is what's in the panty that was left behind by the people who lived here previously," Johanna pointed out. "It's settled then. We have plenty of food and lots of room. You can either follow us or we'll expect you shortly." Rick stood up. "Come on pumpkin. We have to go home and start cooking." He held out his hand to her for come with him.

"We can bring her with us if you trust us enough," Johanna offered hesitantly, not wanting to overstep. Rick thought about it. It was his bear that had gotten him to ask in the first place. "Pumpkin?" He left it up to her to decide. Alexis turned her head to look at Kate who still had her arms around her. "Can I dad?"

"I'll expect you in about half an hour. Alexis knows how to get home." Rick had made his decision too.


	11. Chapter 11

**CH11**

Rick decided to pull out all the stops as Midas and Maggie sat in the kitchen and watched every move he made. "Oh, alright you two." He relented and pulled out the Turkey Jerky doggie treats and gave each of them one that they almost swallowed whole.

Rick had already thawed some bread dough earlier so he started with that and soon had a loaf in the oven spreading the smell of baking bread throughout the house. Next came three steaks out of the freezer and he started defrosting them; two sirloin steaks and one New York strip steak. He didn't have time for mashed potatoes even though he had raw potatoes, so he cheated and measured out what he needed from a green beans also came from the freezer along with the turkey gravy he'd made for Christmas dinner. He'd frozen what was left over using the vacuum sealer machine. He was only just starting on the green salad when, while keeping an eye on Midas and Maggie, he watched them scramble out of the kitchen without barking. That told him they had figured out that Alexis was home.

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"What!?" Kate asked taking a peek at her mother in the passenger seat of Johanna's car that Kate was driving. "You're sure you don't want me to drive so you can keep your arms around Alexis?" Johanna teased her daughter. Kate had only let go of her when she had escorted her mother to the front door as they watched Rick drive away in his really big truck. "I…" Kate didn't know what to say. That voice in the back of her head was telling her to go to Rick's house and hold onto Alexis at the same time. She had simply overridden the voice and drove. "It's alright Katie. She _is_ pretty irresistible," Johanna commented and turned her head to look in the back seat at Alexis who was just sitting there smiling.

Kate's and Johanna's eyes opened wide when they came into view of Rick's house. "Rick lives here?" Kate squeaked. "You live here?" Johanna turned to look at Alexis who simply nodded. "He has a travel trailer too," Johanna noticed. "I hope he has the space he needs if he plans on taking himself and 5 little girls in that thing." Kate also noticed the large pile of boxes but held her tongue as she parked behind Rick's truck blocking him in.

Kate and Johanna had their heads on swivels as they walked up the stairs towards the front door. "It's a real honest-to-god log home," Johanna remarked as Alexis ran out in front of them to the front door. "It's not a log home Mom, it's a mansion." Kate was still spending her time looking everywhere, right up until two big dogs ran out the front door headed right for them. Two big Dobermans! "Midas, Maggie!" Alexis yelled. It was like she had flipped a switch. The dogs wheeled around and went right back to her as Kate and Johanna kept walking to the door. It was at the door where Alexis stood that Kate and Johanna got the treatment. Two dog noses inspected everything.

"They're mostly harmless. They're just protective of Alexis. They're still puppies and have grown up around Alexis whom they have decided needs to be protected." Rick walked up to them and closed the door behind them. He was right behind them as they both walked in with their mouths hanging open. "Living room, dining room to one side. The kitchen is through the opening. Three bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms upstairs. Theater room, exercise room, game room, and another full bath plus laundry downstairs."

"I love the fireplace," Johanna mentioned as she walked towards it. "I love the windows," Kate murmured and went right up to them to look outside. She saw the view they had out into the small valley beyond. "I own 179 acres that goes way out that way, a little ways to the right and the left and out front all the way to US85. Most of it's wooded except for this little valley and what's out front," Rick explained.

"Is that bread I smell?" Johanna asked. "I find that freezing the dough to be baked later works out better than buying loaves of bread and freezing them," Rick explained. "Make a note Katie, we're freezing our dough to be baked later," Johanna told Kate who silently agreed. "Need any help with dinner?" Johanna offered. "Not necessary, you're our guests, I can manage," Rick assured her. "And speaking of dinner, I need to get busy." He headed for the kitchen not noticing that Johanna was right behind him til he reached the refrigerator.

"I love your kitchen," Johanna stated as she looked around. She loved the floor, the countertops, the cabinets weren't too dark, and she even liked the backsplash. "So what are you working on?" Johanna wasn't taking no for a response. "I was just about to start making the green salad. Baked potatoes take too long so I was going to cheat and use potato flakes and add water with milk mixed in," he admitted. "Leave the salad and baked potatoes to me, you handle everything else. I have a few tricks," Johanna told him and opened the giant refrigerator. "Well?" she said, glaring at him.

"I'll, ah…I'll go start the grill," he said and headed for the door off the kitchen leading to the backyard. "You do that," Johanna agreed, taking over Rick's kitchen. She found the potatoes, rubbed them with olive oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, jabbed them a few times with a fork then put all of them in the microwave and set it on high for 5 minutes. She started pulling things out of the refrigerator. She found the frozen beans he was likely going to use, except she found an entire bag of snap beans in the refrigerator. Johanna guessed he had forgotten he had them. "Katie, get in here." She was going to put her daughter to work. "What happened to Rick?" Kate asked as she walked into the kitchen and looked around. "This is really nice."

"Here, snap these beans, fry at least 8 strips of bacon, cut these grapes he has in half,bring a half pan of water to a boil with an eighth teaspoon of salt in it, and cook the beans after you're done snapping them." Johanna gave her directions. "What happened to Rick?" Kate thought he was cooking. "He's outside tending to the grill, right where a man who thinks he can cook should be," Johanna stated and glared at Kate til she started frying the bacon followed by snapping the beans. Johanna finished the green salad using what she found in his refrigerator, though she had to admit he was well stocked. Maybe she was short changing him in his ability to cook.

Kate was still frying the bacon while cutting grapes in half when Rick came into the kitchen and picked up the steaks and went back outside.

"Are you making cookies?" Alexis entered the kitchen followed by the dogs who stuck their noses in everyone's business. "I'll start those right after we eat. Do you want to help?" Johanna asked her. "Can I?" Alexis was excited. "Of course. If I can't teach Katie to cook I can teach you," Johanna said, teasing her daughter. "I'm standing right here Mom." Kate stopped cutting grapes. "If the water is boiling put the beans in," Johanna responded. She checked the potatoes and set the microwave for another 5 minutes. Johanna found the pasta and started boiling some more water for it. Then she went looking for mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, and started chopping a small amount of onion. "Find a bowl to put the beans in when they are done," Johanna instructed Kate.

Johanna was soon stirring the beans, onions, vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, and the grapes in the bowl just as Rick came in with the steaks. "I hope you like them medium with a little pink inside," he said. "Sounds perfect," Kate mentioned. "Help me set the table?" he asked opening cabinets and handing things to her leaving the plates on the countertop. Rick and Kate were just finishing when Johanna walked out with the bowl of green salad that had onions, grapes, baby tomatoes, trim slices of carrots, and sunflower seeds that she had found.

Next came a plate that had the New York strip steak, beans and a potato on it. It was followed by two more steaks and a plate that just had the beans and a potato on it. "I assumed she was getting part of your steak," Johanna mentioned just as the oven alarm sounded. Rick went into the kitchen while everyone sat down and Johanna started cutting up Rick's steak to put pieces on Alexis's plate. "MOM!?" Alexis was his child not hers. Johanna paid Kate no mind and finished what she was doing and sat down.

Rick came in with a plate of sliced fresh bread and then returned with a glass of milk followed by glasses of ice water.

"Why did you move way out here?" he asked to break the silence. Kate opened her mouth and then closed it. What did she say? "I lost my husband and wasn't handling it well. We decided to escape New York to get away from the memories," Johanna replied, letting Kate off the hook which surprised her. Her mother hadn't talked much about that time. "I'm sorry. What happened if you don't mind my asking?" he asked, wanting more information. "Dad was run over by a drunk. A rich drunk who was driving without a license due to numerous DUIs. His blood alcohol level was so high at the time it was a miracle he was even conscious," Kate answered, sparing her mother. "I'm still sorry. Losing a loved one suddenly is one of the worst things to happen to a family. What did he do for a living?" Rick asked another question. "He was a lawyer, we both were. Jim was good with corporate law while I was more a public defender. I preferred to help those that needed it but couldn't afford it. I usually picked my own cases instead of having them handed to me by the courts," Johanna explained.

"And what about you? Another lawyer?" he asked figuring Kate had followed in her parents footsteps. "I actually started out that way. I even took a semester in pre-law at Stanford, until I decided it wasn't for me. I chose to go to a different school after I left there," Kate told him. "Hm, a specialty school I'm guessing," he surmised. "Police academy actually," she said. His eyes widened. "You were a cop?" He would never have guessed. "I spent my time on the streets in a car before I passed my detective's exam," she told him. "I liked the idea of getting people justice using a different method than what Mom was doing." Kate offered her short explanation. It was a little more complicated than that, but she wasn't ready to talk about it now.

"Detective…Robbery, Vice?" Rick knew there were specialties. "Homicide actually," Kate corrected him. "Like the murders in my books?" It was a strange world if these two were now his neighbors. "I've been trying to get Katie to read your books for weeks, months…" Kate interrupted her. "Why would I spend my day putting murderers away only to come home and read about them?" She once again gave her already well-used excuse to not read those kind of books.

"You're a police officer?" Alexis asked, getting into the conversation. "I used to be sweetie, but not anymore. I might even have my old police uniform somewhere. I got to ride around in a police car with lights and siren," Kate told her. "COOL!" Alexis was impressed. "So what now?" Rick asked. "Oh no, your turn. Tell us why you moved out here with your daughter," Kate countered since she had no idea what she or they were going to do. They still had roughly a million of the original 1.85 million so money wasn't pressing.

He took in a deep breath and let it out. "I left this area when I was in my early 20s to get away from my father. I was always relatively good at writing and moved to New York to make my fortune. Didn't really work out that way initially. Still I managed to get my first book published…" Johanna interrupted him. "In a Hail of Bullets," she said. "You really are a fan it you read that." Rick was impressed. "You have no idea." Kate shook her head.

"Anyway when I started the Derek Storm series my publisher and publicist came up with this plan to increase sales. It meant more money so I went with it. Alexis was barely more than a baby. They advertised me as a playboy, someone who would…well, bring home any woman who looked my way. They would assign women to hang on my arm whenever I went to events. The reality was far from what they published," he said. "I read about some of that. I thought it tarnished your name and would actually lower book sales. Increase the number of women who came to your book signings, yes," Johanna remarked. "Actually the numbers did go up so I kept up with it and as sad as it sounds, started liking it. Up until an event that changed everything." He stopped talking and took a drink of his water wishing it was scotch. Kate noticed his hand shaking. _'It must be really bad,' she th_ _ought_ _._

"I got a call from Alexis's school. She had gotten into a fight in school," Rick paused as Kate and Johanna watched Alexis try to disappear in her chair. She wanted to be anywhere but at the table. "She had gotten into a fight defending my honor. Apparently some of the kids' parents were talking and the kids overheard them or their parents were telling them on purpose," he explained.

"They were being mean to my daddy." Alexis was still willing to defend her dad.

"That was the event that got me to wake up. I made arrangements to have this house built. Just before it was done, my contract with Black Pawn ended and I left both them and my publicist. I sold everything - properties, cars, everything, and moved us here. I haven't regretted the decision. Living out here has been…like being free again. No noise, fresh air, you can see the stars at night. Plus I don't have anyone breathing down my neck trying to get chapters for my next book. No more parties with women who have more brains in their, ah...then they have in their head." Rick had to be careful with Alexis around. Still Kate and Johanna got the point.

It also told Kate that he wasn't a man who was only interested in woman with big boobs. That made her smile, she actually may have a chance. ' _And just where the hell did that thought come from?'_ she wondered.

"My only real fear was that Alexis wouldn't like it here. That she wouldn't make any friends at school, leaving her all alone. Fortunately she's found a few. Paige and Jenny," Rick said and looked at Alexis. "They're nice," Alexis simply stated.

"Stay for a movie? I have ice cream and coffee," Rick offered, hoping his enticement would encourage them to stay a little longer. Kate's eyes widened. It was the one thing they didn't have in their new home. She was guessing the previous owners didn't drink coffee, since neither kitchen had so much as a cheap Mr. Coffee machine.

"Coffee it is. Have a seat in the living room while I make it," Rick offered and picked up his and Alexis's plates, only to find Kate and Johanna right behind him with their plates.

Rick used his fancy machine to make lattes for everyone as Kate watched every move. Kate watched the espresso go in first, followed by steamed milk, and then came two different syrups of which Kate only caught one. (Peppermint). Next he took out a can of whipped crème and squirted on the top of the coffee then she watched him grate a piece of chocolate over that. Finally he put a straw in it. "Here, try that." Rick handed it over to Kate who took a hesitant pull on her straw and watched her eyes light up. "You look more like…" and he started making another one. Kate saw him start out with espresso again, then added three different syrups only one of which Kate caught the name of (Vanilla). That was followed by whipped crème and then he took a piece of chilled caramel and grated it, sprinkling it on top and stuck a straw into it and handed it over to her mother.

Johanna took a sip. "WOW, this is good." And Johanna took an even bigger sip. "Is that pumpkin spice and vanilla? I can't place the other." Johanna took another sip. "It's Toffee Nut," Rick explained and began making something else that didn't involve the coffee machine. It had ice cream, milk, two syrups, both of which Kate missed reading, more whipped crème and sprinkled some crushed nuts over it. He handed it to Alexis. "Thanks Dad." And Alexis started sucking on her straw while walking back into the living room.

"I haven't forgotten about you two," Rick called and Kate and Johanna watched him take a bag out of a cabinet and take two items out. The dogs crowded him as their teeny tiny tails wagged excitedly. He gave each of them their Turkey Jerky strip which was almost swallowed whole. "It helps if you two chew it you know," he chastised them, not that Midas or Maggie noticed.

He made a latte for himself and followed Kate and Johanna out to the living room. "What do you two plan on doing now that you're here?" Rick went back to his and Johanna looked at each other. "You could always open your own law office. There are a number of people who live out here who don't have a lot of money," Rick said. He could tell Johanna was hesitant about doing that. "Be a consultant or broker directing people to the right lawyer for what they need. Don't actually take on cases, just direct them to people who can help them. Charge them pennies on the dollar. Even people who don't make much can have a problem taking handouts," Rick offered and saw Johanna's eyes light up.

Kate was smiling wide. Rick had found something that seemed to reach her mother who just weeks or months ago had shut-down completely. "What about Katie?" Johanna asked now that he had given her something to think about. Kate presented him with a challenge. She didn't want to be a lawyer and used to be a homicide detective. He doubted there was much of a law enforcement agency in this town. "Be a deputy to the local sheriff. Run for sheriff when he comes up for election? Run for mayor maybe when his term is up? Start your own business? I could teach you how to make that." Rick pointed to the drink she was holding. "Open a coffee shop?" Kate stated incredulously, not sure it was for her. "That or a donut shop?" he teased. "Oh funny, very funny," she countered, sticking her tongue out at him, causing him to start laughing.

"Cookie shop," Alexis offered since she loved cookies. "COOKIES! We need to start making cookies." Johanna had forgotten and started to get up. Kate loved seeing her so active and engaged in living again, however... "Maybe another day. Mom, we still need to go grocery shopping. Our refrigerator is completely empty," Kate pointed out which got Johanna to sit back down again. "I'm sorry sweetie, maybe next time." Johanna really didn't want to have Alexis angry with her. "That's okay." Alexis was disappointed about not getting to make cookies though. "We'll stop at their house after school tomorrow. That will give her time to make you your cookies," Rick said. "And we'll go shopping for what I need to make those cookies tonight." Johanna and Kate left their empty glasses behind.

"Thanks for inviting us," Johanna said. "I should be thanking you. You made the dinner, all I did was grill," Rick countered. "And I can cook again tomorrow when you come over for cookies," Johanna offered, paying no attention to Kate and the look she was giving her.

"We'll be there. Thanks for coming." Rick drew Johanna into a bear hug the likes of which she had never experienced. Johanna melted into his arms and felt some of her pain disappear.

"Think about it. You could take over the sheriff's job in a year or two," Rick suggested and pulled Kate into a hug. She also melted into Rick. ' _God_ _s above,_ _but this man knows how to give hugs! - Kiss him, maybe he knows how to do that too,'_ the voice in the back of her head said. Kate actually started lifting up on her toes to do just that before she took over and simply rubbed her lips across his jaw, feeling the light stubble of his unshaved face. Still it had her heart pounding.

Kate was driving them into town. "WHAT!?" she said loudly looking at her mother who was staring at her.


	12. Chapter 12

**CH12**

Sophia hated these days. She had to explain herself to the committee. Still it was the committee that gave her the weaponry and other things that she needed to complete her job. It didn't hurt that she was paid handsomely for the work that she did.

She was down in the garage of her home while the kids were at school and her husband was working at their restaurant helping make one of the many delicious meals that her family enjoyed when he was home and cooked for them.

She was presently waiting for one of the 5 committee members to show up on their screens, he was late. All of them were in the dark and she had no idea who any of them were and she hadn't tried finding out. They wanted what she wanted so why try and find out? Finally he came up on the screen, so to speak, since all 5 of them were effectively screened and their voices were technologically modified. "We have read your report on the attack in Alaska. While we are glad at your success you lost men and resources needlessly. We advise you to learn from this mistake and not repeat it again," he cautioned her. She was not immune to being replaced or eliminated so that their organization remained secret.

"I understand and I can assure you that I am and will avoid another encounter like this one." She was already thinking of alternatives should it ever come up again. "As for the loss of the two planes, it's only a minor nuisance, a small price to pay for the elimination of almost 60 polar bear shifters." Sophia was not concerned about the loss of two planes. They couldn't be traced back to anyone anyway. And they weren't necessarily lost to her forever. All she needed to do was steal them back to put them to use.

"We would also like to remind you that trained operatives do not grow on trees. It takes months of training after we find the right candidate," one of them said sternly. "Losses against polar bears are to be expected. We've done a number of raids against weaker shifters without any losses. We've even taken out one or two of Kodiak bears with only minor injuries," Sophia reminded them.

"We are aware of your successes, which is why you are still in charge. For your information 6 of your men and women who were injured have succumbed to their injuries. You will be receiving 12 new trainees to take their place. All of the others are still in training," one of them stated. "We will remind you that trained men and women WITH experience are more valuable than the new rookies we are sending you. Do try to keep that in mind in the future," she was advised and watched as each member of the committee disappeared from her laptop.

Sophia shut down her laptop and took it back upstairs and stored it in her hiding place that required a code to even open and that was after it had been found.

She had promised her husband that she would be in the restaurant today to help him with the lunch crowd which got her back down to the garage and into her BMW. Once she reached the restaurant she walked straight to the kitchen and found her husband busy cooking. Still she managed to gain his attention. "Hi babe. Let me wash my hands and I'll be back to help," Sophia said and watched her husband smile as she turned to grab a coat to put on and washed her hands.

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He wasn't sure exactly why but he was excited and was smiling widely. Of course his daughter had noticed. "Are we going to see Kate today?" Alexis asked, hoping to see her and get cookies. "They invited us over yesterday, so yes, we're stopping there on our way home, but we're going to pick up the dogs first," Rick told her. Midas and Maggie had already met Kate and Johanna so they should be good.

"You stay here pumpkin this will only take a moment," he said and jogged up the stairs. He was back almost immediately and opened the rear door of the truck. "Come on you two, up." And he patted the seat, watched both of them look up at the height they needed to jump, and they both walked in circles. "Okay you big babies." Rick leaned down and lifted Maggie up first followed by Midas. "You are such wimps," he groaned but they were still just puppies, even if they were a lot bigger.

Alexis climbed out of the truck the second it stopped and her dad turned it off then she ran to knock on the front door. "Okay you two, come on out." Rick tried again and watched Midas just stand there looking down. "FINE! But I'm replacing you two if you keep this up," he threatened, not that they understood or believed him. The second they were down and out of the truck they ran after Alexis.

Rick was last to the door and found Kate holding it open for him. "Hi." And he stepped close to her and enveloped her in a hug. She simply closed her eyes and melted. ' _God_ _s above,_ _but he really does know how to give hugs!'_ She had her head buried in his chest as he started to let go of her. ' _Kiss him!'_ the voice in the back of her head all but demanded. She couldn't gain control fast enough and found herself kissing him as enveloped her again and kissed her back. She had been kissed before but none of them were ever like this. It felt like Rick was kissing her very soul. Meanwhile he could feel the bear in him wishing he would do more than kiss her. Her lips were silky soft and as his tongue searched her mouth, he found her taste to be exquisite. He could feel her hanging onto him as she searched his mouth with her tongue.

They finally broke for air and Kate got down off her toes and buried herself into his chest as he continued to hug her. Her blood was going south and she needed to extract herself before she lost total control or her mother found them. Still… "WOW!" they both said at the same time. She let go of Rick. "Come on in, Mom has been planning almost all day and been cooking for hours it seems," she offered and stepped aside. Both had forgotten that the downstairs kitchen was mostly open and the front door could be seen from the kitchen.

"Why thank you Alexis, I'm glad you like them," was the first thing either Rick or Kate heard after the kiss. Kate turned her head and could see her mother staring at her which had her turning red and ducking her head. She knew why she had kissed him but not why she had lost control so quickly. A piece of her wanted to kiss him again however she had total control now.

"Did you get a cookie pumpkin?" Rick asked as he walked past Kate giving her an "I'm so going to kiss you again and soon" look as he passed by. Her heart pounded in her chest. No one, absolutely no one, had ever gotten that kind of reaction out of her. Hell, she had broken Demming's nose her last day at work just because he was presumptuous and had put an arm around her shoulder. What was worse was she wanted Rick to kiss her again. She was all set to wrap her arms around him from behind but stopped herself. ' _Hug him, kiss him!'_ said the voice. However she didn't do either of those and let him approach the kitchen where Alexis and the dogs all were.

"Something smells good." Rick took in a deep breath savoring the scent. "It had better. I had forgotten just how much trouble making this was," Johanna mentioned, as she slid a pan filled with fingerling potatoes coated with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic, into the bottom oven. "I've never had a double oven before, but now I don't know how I lived without one." Johanna had two things cooking at the same time. "So what are we having?" he asked. "Oh, no Mr. Nosey. Stay out of my kitchen!" Johanna told him and shooed Alexis and the dogs out of her kitchen.

"Do you know what she's up to?" Rick questioned looking at Kate who was standing just outside the kitchen looking in. "Nope. I got pretty much the same treatment, except in my case it was, "Not a chance Katie, now get out of my kitchen and stay out." She watched as her mother glared at her. Kate's heart soared. Her mother seemed to be living again, even if she was still way too skinny. But Johanna was eating again and doing things. She had even eaten everything at Rick's place yesterday which had been a welcome sight.

"Something to drink?" Kate offered. "Milk, water, wine, something harder?" They only had two bottles of wine and a bottle of Tequila which had cost her $150 at the only alcohol store in town. Plus it was the only bottle they had at that price. "Beer if you have any," Rick said. She made a face. "Sorry, Mom is more of a wine drinker and we almost bought the entire store as it was anyway." She didn't like disappointing him for some reason. ' _Kiss him to make up for it,'_ the voice told her which made her groan. "Not to worry I brought some of my own just in case. I'll be right back." He got up, hurried out to his truck, and came back with a six-pack. He took one out and put the rest in the refrigerator. "Would you like one? It's pretty good," he offered looking at Kate. "Sure why not." She took the bottle, opened it, and took a sip.

She looked at the label. "That explains the honey I taste," Kate commented and took another sip. "You don't like it?" Rick wasn't hurt and yet somehow, it made him sad. "I don't hate it, it's just not to my taste I guess," she replied, but kept sipping it though she only ever finished half of it while he was already working on his second bottle. He ultimately left the other three behind when they left to go home.

Half an hour later and Johanna was serving everyone plates of what she had spent most of the day working on, or so it seemed to her. "This looks familiar, I just can't place it," Rick remarked. Kate had never seen it in her life that she could remember. "It's Beef Wellington; fingerling potatoes with rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic; spinach gratin; those Pillsbury rolls," Johanna explained. They didn't have a booster seat for Alexis so they made do with throw pillows. Johanna had even pre-cut the Beef Wellington into tiny bite size pieces for Alexis already. A glass of milk and water all around and they were set.

Rick was half way done since he was a fast eater. "I take it back, you shouldn't be a lawyer, you should be a chief. Open your own restaurant in town. You would pack them in." He kept on eating. "Thanks, but a restaurant requires book work, keeping on top of food deliveries, hiring and firing workers. Plus it me took forever to make this." Johanna was pretty sure she wasn't cut out for restaurant work.

"Drive to Rapid City and arrange for weekly deliveries. Find an architect to design your space, engineers to supply heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical. A structural engineer to account for the cooling units on the roof. A kitchen consultant to design your kitchen and select equipment based off your menu. Work out what it costs to purchase the food you need, the cost of electrical, the lease, employees, and insurance to find out what to charge for each meal to turn a profit. Simple," Rick stated.

"And all of that's exactly why I shouldn't do it." Now Johanna knew she wasn't cut out for it. "Do you like to cook? I mean really like it? Why did you make this? I would have been happy with a few hot dogs or hamburgers," Rick queried. "Well, it was a little fun," she had to admit. However she had done it to impress him and get him over so he was closer to her daughter who seemed to like him.

"Great, you and Kate can create a menu and create an appealing description of each. Decide if you're only open for dinner or add lunch or brunch to that. You leave the architect, kitchen consultant, and engineers to me. I know just who to call and he owes me a favor." Rick was excited, he got to do something.

"And you expect me to do all the cooking? I can't spend my entire day cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Johanna countered. "That's why you go to the local high school and search the home economics department or is it called culinary cooking now? Anyway, talk to the teacher and offer the best kids jobs to help you. Hire the widow lady down the street who knows how to cook just one thing to perfection. Hire high school girls to wait tables, be the receptionist. Hire the kid who wants to be in management to help you keep track of deliveries. Give the kids in this town jobs. It will keep them from doing other things that they shouldn't be doing. You live here, be a part of it." He tried encouragement.

"All that takes money and we don't even have jobs," Johanna countered. Rick already knew the architect, engineers, and kitchen consultant weren't going to cost her a dime. "That all depends on whether you want a standalone building or if you want to take over an empty section of a strip mall. Yes, the kitchen equipment, tables, and décor will cost you something and it will take time to recover that cost," he admitted. "If ever. I could fail you know, and leave us in bankruptcy." Johanna saw the downside. "Not if you can cook like this every day or every five or six," Rick said reasonably, pointing to his food.

"You need something to do Mom, you can't just sit here day after day reading Rick's books," Kate pointed out while teasing him. "HEY!" He heard that which only got a huge grin from Kate. "I'll think about it," Johanna agreed hesitantly. "Perfect I'll have the architect out here as soon as he has an opening." All Rick had heard was yes. "And as far as your brokerage lawyer job, you can do that too. Create flyers and put them at the entrance to your restaurant. Give each customer one with their bill. You'll be so busy you won't be able to sleep," he said. "On second thought forget that part, not sleeping is bad." Johanna and Kate chuckled at his expense.

"Cookies," Alexis offered her 2 cents. "And specialize in cookies." Rick brightened up causing Alexis to smile. "Plus if we do this fast enough, you'll be up and operational before summer is over."

Dessert turned out to be mixed berries in a glass with whip cream on top with grated chocolate sprinkled on top of that. "You can put that in the dessert menu." Rick put his spoon down. He helped clean up while Kate held onto Alexis. "Ready to go pumpkin? We still need to feed Midas and Maggie," he reminded her. Kate reluctantly let go of Alexis and followed them to the door. "Don't forget your cookies," Johanna called out, getting Alexis to run back and take a plate filled with cookies wrapped in cellophane. "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome honey. And when you run out don't forget to come back for more," Johanna told her as Alexis nodded.

He lifted the dogs into the truck and turned to see Kate smirking at him. "They have a phobia about jumping." Rick tried to defend himself. "It's high up and they're just puppies," he said, only to see her face hadn't changed.

"You'll have the local sheriff eating out of your hand in no time. I mean when does a sheriff get a chance to hire a New York City Homicide Detective?" Rick changed the subject. "An unemployed homicide detective," Kate moaned, only to find herself in his arms yet again getting a hug. She closed her eyes and tried to disappear into him. ' _Gods above, how does he do this?'_ She didn't want him to let go of her, but then he did, causing her to moan lightly. ' _Kiss him damn it!'_ the voice in her head was screaming!

"Kate?" She looked up at him. "You're going to make a terrific sheriff when the town elects you next year." He wrapped her in his arms again and kissed the top of her head. "And maybe mayor at the same time!" He had a sudden epiphany. "You can do it, I have faith." He turned, got into his truck, and rolled down the window. "The architect will be out here next week, I guarantee it," he told her and started the truck. He backed up and waved as he left, getting Kate to wave back. ' _Why didn't you kiss him?'_ The voice sounded pissed off. She simply ignored the stupid voice and went back inside.

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"Dad?" Alexis had a question as Rick was tucking her into bed. "What sweetie?" He stopped and gave her his undivided attention. "Do you like Kate?" she asked. "I, um…" Boy, that was a tough question. He barely knew her, however his bear had been screaming at him. It was taking all of Rick's will power to silence him. _'We don't want to scare her off. Give her a chance to come to us,_ _'_ he silently said to his bear.

"Kate's very nice pumpkin. I noticed that you seemed to like sitting on her lap with her arms wrapped around you," Rick pointed out gently. "She's special Dad. Kate feels nice and safe." She answered his question. "More safe than me?" He played at being hurt. "DAD!?" Alexis wasn't buying his act. "Okay fine. I'm glad you like her though. But I _**do**_ _ **no**_ _ **t**_ want you going across the highway on your own to go see her. Crossing that road is far too dangerous! _**A**_ _ **re you listening to me?**_ " Rick tried to sound like she would be in a lot more than just trouble. "Yes Dad." Alexis shrank into her bed, knowing that she had been thinking of doing just that using her pedal car/bike to get there. "You'd better be listening Alexis, something happens to you and I'll…" He didn't want to scare her by saying die, it was just too extreme. "Promise me you won't cross that road alone, ever." He tried to sound serious. "I promise Dad," she told him. "Pinky promise?" He held out his hand and extended his pinky finger. Alexis pulled her hand out from under the cover and hooked her little pinky with his. "Remember pumpkin, you promised…now go to sleep. I love you." And he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I love you too Daddy," she replied.

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Rick knew Oscar worked late so he had no qualms about calling him at this hour. "Oscar, it's Rick I have a favor I need to ask you." He got right to the point. "Richard Castle, as I recall, and we both know my memory is perfect, I owe you two favors. So what's on your mind?" It must have something to do with his work he was betting. "Let me guess. You need another kitchen. I just don't see how though." Oscar was stuck on that one. He had already designed the kitchen Rick had now.

"As a matter of fact it is a kitchen. It also happens to be an entire dining room too. She needs a location, a theme, colors, kitchen equipment, and everything else that goes with a restaurant," Rick told him. "So we're talking a commercial kitchen rather than another house kitchen. How big?" Oscar started asking questions. "To be honest, that's where you come in. Have you got time to come out here next week and help her look for something?" He crossed his fingers followed by his toes which actually hurt a little given he was wearing shoes. "So you're thinking about a remodel. I think I can fly out on Thursday and go back on Saturday provided I don't miss the 7:05 game." Oscar only had one request.

"Perfect! I'll email you the tickets and meet you at the airport. You'll be staying with us of course," he announced. "So I get to spend some time with your little ray of sunshine, I hope. As for your project, I'll put together what I think I might need and wait for your email. It'll be good to actually see your home's kitchen. All I've ever seen is the renderings and your pictures," Oscar pointed out even though he designed it for Rick. "Oh, I need to warn you - we have two dogs now," Rick mentioned. "So do we, so that shouldn't be a problem. Send the tickets and I'll be there." Oscar ended the call.

"This had better work or they're both going to kill me." Rick fell back into his sectional. "Or torture me and then shoot me."


	13. Chapter 13

**CH13**

Rick didn't see either Kate or Johanna again for days. It was Saturday and Alexis was out of school and as much as he would have liked to have done something with her, gone somewhere perhaps, he had a delivery and a contractor to wait for. The first one showed up about 11:00 am and dumped several yards of crushed rock in his driveway near the giant pile of boxes. Next came a contractor in a dump truck towing a bobcat behind him. He met them as they pulled up and met each other. "So you just need a large hole to be prepared for something?" the lead contractor asked, dumbing it down a little. "That's about the size of it. The manufacturer of the playset, which is in these boxes, suggested a space of 58' 7" long by 35' 11" wide with a sub-base of crushed rock that's been compacted, followed by several inches of playground material. In this case a variation of wood chips," Rick explained.

"Well, we can make the hole easy enough and haul away the dirt. I need to make a call so I can compact the crushed stone that you already have. What about these wood chips?" He knew his contract called for installing that material also. "That should be here just a little after lunch. What I don't know is how it will arrive." Rick wasn't privy to that information. "Not a problem. If it's in a dump truck like the gravel we'll just use the bobcat to pick it up and haul it to the site. If it's in bags we'll do the same. How about you show me where you want this playset and we'll get started," the contractor offered as he took one man with him while the other started unloading the bobcat.

It was half an hour later and Rick and Alexis were out back watching the contactor dig a hole while the other two men used shovels to provide a vertical surface to install the border next to. The bobcat went back and forth digging a hole and then down to the dump truck to dump the dirt, til all three of them had shovels to form the perimeter. Next came the border that they staked into place, followed by the bobcat picking up loads of crushed gravel while two men raked it level. While they took a break, a flatbed truck showed up with pallet after pallet of bags filled with the Fibar material that went in next. The truck came with its own fork lift on the back. It only took the driver minutes to unload the pallets that Rick counted and signed for. He and Alexis watched the truck drive away.

 _Fibar Systems consist of engineered wood fibers that knit together to form a surface soft enough to cushion falls, yet firm enough for wheelchairs. A patented drainage system protects your investment from bad weather damage and avoids mud and puddles after a rain. Easy to install and maintain._

 _It consists of Fibar Engineered wood fiber panels (EWF) that come in 24"x24" panels. FibarFelt geotextile fabric prevents stone and dirt from contaminating the EWF. BibarDrain strips collect and carry rain water away from the playground surface. Fibarmat protects heavy wear areas to minimize maintenance. FibarGuard playground borders keep safety surfacing right where it belongs._

The border was installed on three sides first. The fabric was laid down next with overlapping seams. This was followed by the drain strips. Next came the 24"x24" mats that had saw tooth sides and fitted together locking them into place. Finally the EWF was laid down much like an engineered wood floor. One side had a groove while the other side would snap into the groove. The ends were cut straight and the border installed then the contractor was done.

With his money in hand he drove off leaving Rick standing in the middle of the space where his daughter's playset was to be built. He had no illusions - it was going to take them two or three weekends to construct this monstrosity. It had 5 slides, one of which was a curved tube, while the other 4 varied in lengths. It had two towers, the tallest was 13 feet in height up to the peak of its pitched roof. That one had an internal staircase and had a second floor walkway with walls to the other tower that had two slides and stairs out the back. Next to is where 4 swings hanging from a beam with a support in the middle and one on the end to hold the beam.

"I'm in big trouble! Yup. I'm going to owe Paige and Jenny's parent's big time for this," Rick moaned. However his mood instantly lightened as he watched a dark green Jeep come up his driveway. It was almost time to start cooking dinner. Maybe he could convince her to stay or go get Johanna and they could both stay for dinner. Kate watched Rick jog down the little hill from what was his backyard to the driveway where she parked right behind his truck blocking him in again. She was just getting out when she found herself being hugged again. _'Oh, I so could get used to this!'_ _she thought._ Kate simply let herself get sucked against his chest and did her best to wrap her arms around him.

All too soon Rick let go of her and it was all she could do not to moan from the loss. "I haven't seen you in days." He pulled her back in for yet another hug. _'KISS HIM, kiss him now!'_ the voice in her head all but screamed at her. He gently pushed her away even though she was wearing boots with heels that made it so much easier to kiss him now that she had some height to her.

"What have you been up to?" he asked her. "Well…" Kate was loath to admit he was right, but she did feel good about it. "You're looking at the new Deputy for Weston County, Wyoming, based in Newcastle, starting next weekend." She had planned on telling her mother first, but for some reason she turned right instead of left and well, here she was. "SERIOUSLY!?" Rick was ecstatic for her and tried to give her the best bear hug he had ever given anyone. For her part Kate simply felt like she had died and gone to heaven. _'Please let me stay right here forever.'_ ran through her mind. However he let go of her. "We need to celebrate! If we were in New York I'd say let's get dressed up and go out to dinner. Around here I've only been to the Pizza Barn," he said, shoulders sagging. It was one of the few things he missed about New York. "Alexis is in love with pizza," he explained when he saw the questioning look on Kate's face.

"You can come to our house and eat. Mom's been cooking non-stop ever since you left. She's been looking up some of her old recipes that I think she got from her mother and has been trying them out on us. I've been eating dinner for lunch and dinner for dinner for days now. I think she's trying to make me fat." Kate was worried it was going to work too, since she didn't have access to any exercise equipment anymore like she had at the 12th. "We can fix that, I have an exercise room in the basement you can use," Rick offered. "Does it have a bag?" She wanted a complete workout. "DUH!?" was his only answer. "It sits on the floor instead of hanging from the ceiling." She didn't think she had ever seen one of those. Nonetheless it was a punching bag and she still had her gloves.

"Oh, one more thing," Kate mentioned and listened to the voice in her head that had been screaming at her to kiss him. She took Rick's face in her hands and lifted up to kiss him soundly followed by wrapping her arms around his neck. She could feel his arms around her as he kissed her back. She played with the tiny hairs on the back of his neck while her tongue searched his mouth and felt every ounce of her blood head south. She finally broke from the kiss to get some air. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" he questioned after his heart had calmed down enough to form words.

"Mom has been cooking since you left and making notes for a dinner menu. I haven't seen her this alive since before Dad died and I have you to thank for it," she explained and kissed him for all she was worth yet again. Only this time she kept her hands on his broad chest and ran her hands across it feeling his nipples under her fingers.

"I'm happy to help. Why don't you come inside," he suggested which had her thinking he was asking her inside and into his bed which she wasn't ready for. And for once her voice seemed to be sated at the moment. "You can look at the exercise equipment while I collect Alexis if we're coming over for dinner again," he explained. Part of Kate was happy that it wasn't an invitation to his bed and part was sad that it wasn't. If he could hug and kiss like this, what else could he do? "Sure." She followed him inside and went downstairs while Rick went in search of Alexis. She had never been downstairs so she was a bit surprised when she saw all the windows that were directly under all of the windows upstairs. It almost looked like the entire wall could be opened up and let the outside in. There was a pool table that had a light brown cloth and an air hockey table. In addition there was a poker table that could seat five that even had chips waiting for everyone with a deck of cards sitting in the middle.

' _Who needs chips when you can use clothes?'_ her stupid voice offered. "WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" she literally yelled at the voice which thankfully remained silent. Off to one side she saw a sauna and an unusual shower. Next to it was a bathroom with a shower. "Strange. There are 2 showers." Beside it was the exercise room. There was a mat near one corner with mats lining two of the walls. A stationary bike, treadmill, and a stair master. There was a work-out bench that had funky long slats hanging out the sides. "I think I saw this on TV one time, can't remember its name," Kate muttered to herself. There were actually some free weights and then there was a stand that had weights sitting on them. There was a dial on each of them. "I think I've seen these on TV too." She still couldn't remember what they were called. Last, but not least, was the punching bag Rick was talking about. It was really wide at the base and tapered up towards what amounted to a person's head. Kate gave it a tentative punch with her hand and it rocked the tiniest bit. "This should do nicely," she remarked to herself.

Next she found the laundry room and saw clothes piled up in an open hamper and didn't understand until she looked up and saw the hole in the ceiling. "He has a dirty clothes chute." Kate loved the idea of it. "No lugging dirty clothes down to the basement." She was now determined to look for a tiny door in the kitchen too, since it was on this side of the house. Next came the garage that was mostly empty and longer on one side than the other. The travel trailer was blocking the short side if she was right. "There you are!" Rick and Alexis showed up. "Ready to go? We can go out through the garage," he offered and pressed the button on the wall that opened one of the doors.

"Hi Kate!" Alexis was happy to see her. "Hello Alexis, how's school?" Kate tried a neutral topic. "It's nice. Dad says we can go camping soon with my friends," she mentioned. "I heard about that. Is your trailer big enough to sleep all of you?" Kate asked her as they walked outside with Midas and Maggie right behind Alexis. "We can show you before we go if you'd like to see it," Rick said and pulled out his keys. He opened door and allowed Kate to go first. She immediately noticed it was larger than theirs. "My space is there." He pointed to the opening where there was actually no door, just an opening. The bed was big, though given Rick's size, he probably took up most of the space.

' _You're just going to sleep on him anyway.'_ The voice suddenly returned causing her to growl softly. "The sofa can be converted to a bed as can the dinette," he pointed out. She saw the bathroom, kitchen and finally the two bunk beds in the back. "You have enough space for four of the 5 little girls I heard about. Where's the 5th one sleeping?" she questioned. "Well the sofa is the bigger of the three and hopefully large enough for 2 little girls. They get any bigger and we could be in trouble." Rick offered.

"I hear you are coming with us," Rick mentioned. That got Kate to turn on him. "Where did you hear that idea?" Her mother had only ever teased her about it. "A certain little birdie may have overheard it from someone's mother," he said. "I'm so going to kill my mother," she whispered though it was loud enough for him to hear her. "Oh come on, it'll be fun. Why did you buy a motorhome if you're not going to use it?" he challenged. "My mother again." She wasn't going to kill her but she definitely was going to give her a piece of her mind.

' _Sex out in the wide open spaces. What could be better?'_ Her stupid voice was talking again. Instead of cursing or railing against it, Kate started pushing him out the door. "Let's go Rick." Maybe if they got home her stupid voice would **SHUT THE HELL UP**!

Rick was the last one through the door. Sure enough Johanna was obviously cooking and it smelled great. He was going to come over here more often if Johanna was this good of a cook. With difficulty he forced his bear to be silent. "ALEXIS!?" Johanna hadn't been paying attention. "Please tell me your..." Johanna shut-up when she saw Rick. She had been all set to give Alexis a piece of her mind if Alexis had come over here on her own. "Hi!" Alexis hugged Johanna's legs which got Johanna to kneel down to her level and envelope her in a motherly hug. To Alexis it felt nice but she liked her dad's hugs better. Even Kate holding her was better, still Johanna's hug was nice. "I presume you invited these two over for dinner?" Johanna looked at her daughter.

"I'm going to be fat if I didn't Mom. I've been eating your dinners for days now. I don't have room to hold another of your big meals," Kate informed her. "Oh, you are looking at the new Deputy Sheriff for Weston County, Wyoming based here in Newcastle. My first day is next weekend," she said. "That's GREAT honey! I'm so proud of you!" Johanna walked out of the kitchen to hug her daughter. "It does mean I have the entire county Mom, not just our little town," she warned her. "Which means what exactly?" Johanna didn't know that much about the job itself. "It means lots and lots of driving to places I've never even heard of," she replied. "Guess that means cup after cup of coffee for you," Johanna said.

"I can fix that. Just stop by on your way into work and I'll fill your thermos with the most exquisite coffee. It's guaranteed to keep you awake, put a smile on your face, put hair on your chest." It took Rick a moment to catch up to that last one. "Um, on second thought maybe not coffee quite that good," he said causing both Kate and Johanna to chuckle at his expense.

"How about a cookie before dinner sweetie, and if you two would set the table please?" Johanna asked and got an enthusiastic nod of Alexis's head while Kate went into the kitchen to start handing Rick what they needed for the table. "So what are we trying tonight?" she asked since she had gone through a number of them at this point. "This one is Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Bake. Sort of a variation of the traditional chicken enchilada only without the flour or corn roll. You bake it and broil it so that the cheese on top is melted and just a little brown. Sour crème, avocado, cilantro or cotija cheese is on the side that you can put on top. You can do the same with steak or pork," Johanna told them and started serving everyone's plates. "Oh, we need milk for Alexis." She hadn't gotten used to having a child around again.

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"That was delicious Johanna, you're going to have them standing around the side of the building when you open!" Rick was sure of it. "Anyone save room for dessert?" Johanna asked since Kate had been eating those lately too. "Depends," Rick answered. "It's a s'mores milkshake with a mini s'more on top," Johanna explained. "I'M IN!" he answered immediately. Soon they each had a small tumbler filled with a chocolate milkshake, with little dashes of whip cream on top, and a real mini s'more carefully placed on top. "Yum, s'mores!" he moaned after eating the cookie topping. The milkshake tasted just like it sounded. "That's going on the menu too," Rick mentioned.

"Which reminds me, the architect kitchen specialist I know will be out here near the end of next week to help you select a site, select kitchen equipment, design a décor all based off of your menu," he told her then wished he had kept his mouth shut when he saw the look on her face as well as how fast it was turning red. **"YOU DID WHAT!?"** Johanna yelled. "HAVE YOU LOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR SENSES? It takes months to open a restaurant, get the kitchen equipment, to hire a staff. I haven't even figured out what to put on the menu, let alone what to call the place. And just who's restaurant is this anyway? Who gave you the right to interject yourself into my life? I don't see a ring on your finger so you certainly aren't my husband!" Johanna was livid.

"Jo's Fine Food?" he meekly suggested. "WHAT!?" Johanna screeched. "The name, Jo's Fine Food? Just without the E," he remarked hesitantly. "YOU...YOU…Argh!" Johanna stabbed her fork into the table top. Since it was made of wood, the prongs of her fork actually stuck, which made Rick jump just a touch as Alexis shrank in her seat because of all the yelling. Johanna jumped up out of her chair and stalked off.

"You better go Rick. My mother knows where my personal back-up piece is located," Kate warned him, not really convinced that her mom would even go get it let alone use it. However it did reinforce her mother's point. "She wouldn't really, would she?" He looked at Kate whose face hadn't changed. "Go grab your cookies pumpkin we better go home," he said suddenly. "Dad?" Alexis didn't understand. She didn't want anyone to be angry. "Cookies, pumpkin, now." He started to get up. "I'll get them," Kate offered and had them ready at the front door.

"I didn't…I mean I wasn't trying…I just wanted to help." Rick was dejected. How had such a good thing gone straight to shit? "Mom will calm down eventually. At least maybe now I can eat lunch for lunch instead of another dinner." Kate tried to make a joke. "Well at least I accomplished something," he replied lamely as Alexis took her plate of cookies from Kate.

"You can still come over and work it all off down in the exercise room, unless you're angry with me too." He didn't want Kate upset with him. Hell, he didn't want Johanna mad at him. "No, Rick I'm not angry with you. But you should have talked to my mother before making plans for her. In a way she's right, your last name isn't Beckett," Kate pointed out. "Yeah," I get it now. He was even more disheartened if that was possible. "I'm sorry… Come on pumpkin, let's go home." He didn't even offer Kate a hug or a kiss, just walked out with Alexis, Midas, and Maggie. Even his bear was silent. It had been excited, too. Kate watched them drive away and went in search of her mother to see if she could do some damage control. Rick just took things a little too far without talking with her mother first.


	14. Chapter 14

**CH14**

Sophia had left Coonan behind after their partial success of decimating the large community of polar bear shifters. She had sent Josh Davidson up to join him and together they had a lead on where some of them had escaped to. With that information she had sent 4 of their rookie members to learn from two of her best and most experienced members. She had arranged for trucks this time, two of them with snowmobiles loaded in the back.

Josh and Coonan were good with snowmobiles and they were riding into Alaska, each with a rookie behind them. Even with that neither of them spotted the polar bear that looked more like a snow drift than anything else. As a result they drove directly into an ambush. Josh was out front and didn't notice a thing until the rookie behind him was suddenly gone. He never heard a thing over the roar of the engine.

Coonan was a little behind him and off to one side, not that it did him any good as he suddenly found himself flying off his snowmobile and into the snow. He was good and had his weapon out in a heartbeat even as he hit the snow. His only problem was that just as he was doing that, the polar bear shifter was ripping his neck open with his teeth.

The polar bear moved on, leaving Coonan little more than a large red stain in the snow and ice. Josh started a wide turn and saw the other snowmobile lying in the snow with the rookie standing and shooting at anything and everything. Josh headed for him as fast as he could go. He was watching the rookie and trying to keep an eye out for more polar bears around him. Just as the rookie was slapping in a new clip a polar bear came up out of the snow and slapped a paw at him.

Josh watched the polar bear howl in pain while the rookie was knocked to the ground only to get back up quickly. "Good boy, you turned on your vest." Josh was each wore vests that discharged a high voltage electrical charge whenever flesh came into contact with it. It wasn't enough to kill any shifter. However, for a wolf, it might knock him unconscious...maybe. For a polar bear, all it did was cause some pain, causing it to back off for a moment.

As useful as the vest was it only had enough power to work twice, meaning the kid only had one more charge left. Josh was just beginning to approach him so he could at least slow down if not stop so the kid could get him behind him and they could get out of there. Just as Josh was thinking that, the very same bear that took the charge bit the rookie's right leg completely off. He was gone so Josh turned and charged back the way they had come.

"Snow home, please respond." Josh used his headset to talk to the two rookies left behind with the two trucks. "Snow home, go," was the response he got. "Three men gone, headed for home. Secure perimeter, advise unsafe condition," Josh told them and hoped they knew what to do.

What Josh didn't know was that the two polar bears that had watched them park and the other four leave, had watched them talking to no one and waited til they bears each charged one human and although each bear took a few rounds to their bodies, that didn't even slow them down. Two seconds later and both of the rookies had their heads attached to their bodies by a slender strip of skin.

Both polar bears waited for two of their women to walk up and hop in the cabs of each truck while the bears jumped in the back as the women drove off with their prize. They needed the trucks to help their people move deeper into Alaska. They had emergency lodge poles with skins to set up along with a few other things. What they also got was all the weapons that the humans had brought with them. What they now had was something that would form a deadly perimeter around wherever they stopped.

What they also had, but didn't know yet, were 4 cases of claymore mines that could be set using a trip wire or triggered by remote. They also had a case of WWII grenades but what they really got that would make all of them giddy were two of the Vulcan Sentry Gun Platforms.

Basically one of the Vulcan Sentry Gun Platforms consisted of a .50 cal army machine gun that was linked to a laptop computer which it turn was connected to motion detector sensors that also acted like a mini radar dish. The Vulcan would fire at whatever the motion sensor/radar units spotted. Each Vulcan came with a case that held 1,000 rounds and they had 8 of these cases on the truck. If set up properly, absolutely nothing could get past the Vulcan. In addition the rounds themselves were new.

 _CompBullet produces a series of bullets of the same name, which go faster than normal ammo, and produce less recoil. The secret? The bullets have go-faster holes in them._

 _Available in several calibers, the copper alloy bullets have a main cavity in the base, with multiple "vents" machined into their sides. These serve several purposes._

 _First of all, when the gun is fired, the vents supposedly allow the propellant gases to go through the sides of the bullet, providing lubrication between it and the inside of the gun's barrel._

 _As the bullet exits the gun, the gases symmetrically shoot sideways out of the vents. This creates a "muzzle brake" effect. A muzzle brake is a device fitted to the end of a gun's barrel, that redirects the gases as they leave the gun, to offset the recoil effect. The vents in the CompBullets serve the same purpose._

 _At the same time, the gases shooting out of the vents also create a rocket-like effect, increasing the bullet's velocity_

Josh found two dead men when he arrived. They still had their head sets, their weapons, and what was in their backpacks - the same emergency supplies that he had in his backpack. He stopped and recovered everything he could from their bodies including their backpacks. Now he had food, water, and medical supplies for three people and half a tank of gas.

Unfortunately for him, the trucks had all of the long distance communication equipment. He was tempted to rip off his head set, but decided he needed everything he could carry, which got him to take the other two headsets off their heads. He used their cold weather gear to secure everything to the back of his snowmobile. Josh fired up his snowmobile and rode off.

Sophia never heard from any member of that team ever again.

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Rick had kept his distance and his bear had been just as silent. It had been two long days and he'd stayed away from both Kate and Johanna. He was, however, making some progress on his next book as well as spending a lot of time working off steam in the exercise room.

"Dad, can we go see Kate?" Alexis was missing both of them and her dad was moping around and hadn't been much fun lately. "I'm sorry Alexis, but they're probably still upset with me," he responded, knowing that Alexis had finished all the cookies Kate had given her last time. "Please? Kate said she wasn't angry." Alexis remembered that part. "I know pumpkin, but her mother is and they live in the same house. Oscar is coming tomorrow, you remember him don't you?" He offered some consolation. "I'd rather go see Kate," Alexis whispered and walked away dejected. His heart sank a little lower into the pit of despair. He had made Johanna angry, Kate was probably at least disappointed in him, and now his little girl was hurting all because of his actions.

Maybe tomorrow would be better. He went back to his writing and let Alexis find something to keep herself busy with in her room, which was where she had retreated to.

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Rick drove his truck right up next to Oscar who was standing at the curb of the Rapid City Airport. "Those are some really big wheels you've got here Castle," Oscar commented "It's Rodgers now Oscar and please go back to calling me Rick," he asked him. "Wow! Aren't we a bundle of fun, what happened to you? …Hi munchkin, how are you doing?" Oscar changed people, maybe Alexis was feeling better. "Fine." Alexis replied softly. "Okay, what's wrong with you two? This doesn't sound like either of you," he pointed out.

Rick spent part of the ride explaining his plan and how it had all blown up in his face and that Johanna hadn't talked to him since. "You really stuck your entire nose into this one didn't you?" Oscar said. "Nose, face, foot, an entire leg. I don't know what to do. I hate the thought that you came all the way out here for nothing." Rick was still depressed. "You two better snap out of this or you're going to make me depressed," Oscar stated. "Now take me to this lady you want to help open a restaurant, I have a few things I want to show her. Maybe it'll undo the damage you've done." Oscar patted the really large portfolio case he was holding. He had only brought it and his carry-on for the 3 days he was going to be here.

"Okay, but be ready to get yelled at or told to go away," Rick warned him. "We'll see, we'll see," was all Oscar said. "Let's get you settled first before we go meet our maker," Rick remarked getting him to chuckle a little.

"Okay. Are you ready? Because I can guarantee that there are two Dobermans who have long since figured out there is someone new on the other side of the door," Rick warned him. "Let'r rip." Oscar wasn't afraid. Sure enough Rick opened the door and Midas and Maggie had their noses all over him. He let them have their moment before he attempted to pet them. "I came prepared for you two," Oscar told them as he opened his carry-on and pulled out a Ziploc® bag that had both of them interested. "Yeah, I thought so." Oscar took out two strips of jerky that he had inside and fed one to each of them. "I think you're in! Let me show you your room and then you can see the kitchen," Rick said.

"This one is Alexis's, the one at the end of the hall is mine, and this one is yours. You'll be sharing a Jack-n-Jill bathroom with Alexis. There's another full bath in my room and there's one downstairs. A half bath is near the front door," Rick explained. Oscar simply dropped his bag having left his portfolio in the truck since he didn't need to bring it inside. "Okay show me this kitchen."

Oscar walked in smiling widely and started opening drawers that he knew should be there. He pulled out drawers inside the lower cases that held pots and pans. There was a tall but narrow spice rack and a massive three-cabinet-wide pantry. "What did you do, buy out the entire store?" Oscar knew he had asked for it and didn't really understand why, still he had given it to Rick. "We had just over 25 inches of snow last winter in New York City. The average here in Newcastle is 36 inches. So what happens when we get a blizzard that drops twice that much?" Rick defended himself. "You should see the two freezers downstairs in the laundry room," he added.

"I'll see the rest of the place tonight after dinner. Now take me to your restaurant owner wanna be," Oscar asked. "Just make sure you have your phone handy to call 911," Rick mentioned causing him to laugh a little.

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"Nice house. Is someone a gardener?" There were spring plants popping up all over. "That would be the previous owners. I'm not sure either of these two are gardeners." Rick remarked. "Well, if they want everything to live someone is going to need to be," Oscar stated.

After Rick had everyone out of the back seat, Alexis ran for the front door with the dogs right behind her. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Here we go," he said to himself.

The door was already open with Alexis and the dogs missing. Kate, however, was holding the door open. "Hi Rick," she all but purred, which had his bear awake and interested.

"Kate Beckett, this is Oscar Lehman. Oscar this is Kate, she's Johanna's daughter." Rick made introductions. "Mom is hiding out in her room, have a seat and I'll go get her." she shut the door and disappeared down the hall.

"Not a bad kitchen. Kind of looks like a builder upgrade, but still not bad," Oscar said as he looked it over. "I'd love to change out these countertops for a solid surface and maybe upgrade the flooring, but overall not bad."

"You must be the kitchen expert," Johanna remarked having heard almost every word Oscar had said. "Oscar Lehman at your service. It's a pleasure to meet you." He offered his hand that Johanna took.

"You want to change my kitchen?" she asked. "Just a couple of things. Otherwise it's a nice kitchen," Oscar told her. "We have another one upstairs," Kate mentioned. "Well we'll just have to take a look at it too before I leave and I'll offer some suggestions," he stated.

"I'm not sure I want to do this commercial kitchen," Johanna admitted, hating that he came out here for nothing. "Let me show you what I can do for you before you reject the entire idea." Oscar held up his case. He took out the first of 5 boards that he had brought and laid it on the dining room table for everyone to see. "The quickest and probably least expensive option is to take over an empty tenant space that's part of a mall. You will likely be forced into a lease from the landlord owner versus buying your space."

"Leases come in all forms and offers. The most common is called a 3 plus 3. You agree to be in the space for 3 years with another 3 years being an option for both of you using the same leasing terms. After the second 3 year term, you will have to sign a new lease with possibly new terms. Another is a full 7 or 10 year term where you agree to stay the full 7 or 10 years. Using this method means your lease will not go up in cost for the duration of your contract. The downside is obvious," he mentioned. "As you can see being in the middle gives you this type of look. It's rather common to have nothing but windows with glass doors. We would have to work with the landlord to find out what kind of sign is allowed."

"Now inside is another matter," he remarked, pointing out the interior scheme that he had put together. "Your menu will tell us how much kitchen you need to make what you plan of selling. Every restaurant owner wants as many parking spaces as he can get as well as many chairs he can have. Both mean money."

"As you can see, except for these two locations up front, everything else only seats 4 maximum. The majority of customers are couples who will only use 2 of your 4 seats. Having said that, you can always push tables together to accommodate larger groups," Oscar paused. "Your receptionist will take reservations and keep track of what tables are in use or available is always the first thing inside the front door."

"In this case the seating is lit by hanging lights while the rest of the space is mostly dark. It allows you to see your table and the food you are eating while being able to ignore all of the other tables. It gives the illusion that you are alone when you really aren't," Oscar explained.

He brought out another board. "Now this is using the same place except the place is well lit using much brighter décor. Everyone can see everyone else. They can also see what other people are eating while they are trying to make up their minds. For some people this is a benefit while others see it as a distraction," Oscar pointed out. "Or a combination of both, maybe using wood beams and wood ceiling to darken the place just a little. Not making it look like a well lit grocery store."

Oscar pulled out another board. "Now this one uses the same space but this time the restaurant is a buffet where you make and serve a limited number of items for people to choose from. This makes it easy on the people making the food since all they have to do is keep up with what is being eaten. The downside is that it is a buffet. What if the people in this town don't want a buffet and want a home cooked meal?" Oscar pointed out another question Johanna had to answer.

The next two boards showed what they could do if they built a building and what they could do if they took over an abandoned standalone building. "I also brought a number of color schemes for you to look at so you can get an idea of what's possible. Most depend on the type of food you want to serve. Mexican, Chinese, Mediterranean, Turkish, Italian, American? Are you a burger place, mom's homemade cooking like Cracker Barrel for example. Do you have a specialty that you want to be known for? Steaks, pork, lamb. Does everything have bacon in it? The options are endless. Is every day Thanksgiving day and all you serve is the traditional Thanksgiving meal?" Oscar was actually smothering her with options, most of which she hadn't even thought about.

"I've got you on overload don't I?" He could see the overwhelmed look on her face."Pretty much. I'm not even sure I want to do this," Johanna admitted. "I'm going to need to go on a diet if Mom doesn't decide something soon," Kate joked getting her mother to glare at her. "Guinea pig I take it?" Oscar asked. "An overweight, fat one yes," Kate admitted. "Mom is a good cook though," she added. "I second that." Rick spoke for the first time, just happy that Johanna hadn't shot him yet.

"Have you made any decisions?" Oscar asked only to watch Johanna shuffle through his boards and shake her head. "Well, let's start with the thing we need to know first. Where is your restaurant going to be? After that we can work out how big a kitchen you need to cook what you want to sell. Part of that is finding out how many chairs we can get into the space. Too little space for chairs with too big a kitchen is a bad mix."

"Go grab your keys and take me into town and let's go looking. The rest of you can follow for moral support if you like," Oscar offered. "I'll drive Kate and Alexis if we can leave the dogs here?" Rick asked.

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"Looks like your typical small town. Eagle Hardware, Dogie Theater for new release movies. Standard store fronts," Oscar mentioned as they drive through a part of town."THERE! Stop there," he pointed and Johanna parked at an angle like all the other cars. Rick parked right next to them. Soon everyone was on the sidewalk looking at it.

"It's in the middle with probably what are, or could be, apartments on the second floor. You could own a restaurant and be a landlord to renters if you can buy the space instead of having a lease." Oscar said and walked up to look inside. "Long and skinny and we would need to work with what is above us to get grease exhaust up to the roof from kitchen hoods. Maybe not enough seating depending on how many you were hoping for or how many meals you are interested in cooking. Unless there is parking in the back, parking here is limited," he commented. "I vote we keep looking," he proclaimed which got everyone back in their respective vehicles.

They saw several types of stores, all one after the other like one long continuous strip mall. "There, pull over there." Oscar pointed and got Johanna to pull up to a wooden building. It had parking which was all gravel. The entrance had a porch. "It looks like it used to be a restaurant that closed," he commented. "Which isn't automatically a bad thing. They may have failed because the food was bad. The owner may have thrown in the towel. It may be a bad location for a restaurant. The parking lot needs work." Oscar started walking around. "The front porch has wood rot and likely needs to be replaced." He and the rest kept walking. "Single pane windows which is bad for you in winter," he pointed out, tapping one of them with his finger. "The walk-in's are located outside and might be big enough provided they are operational."

He looked in through some windows as did everyone else. "The décor of this place is disgusting. We were going to replace it anyway so who cares. Likely the rooftop units need to be replaced." Oscar thought he could work with it. He just needed to figure out if it was a good location. He looked at Johanna for a sign. She finally shook her head. "We'll keep looking then," he announced and everyone got back on the road.

It turned out they had been in the older part of town. Now they were making their way into the newer section of town. "Wow, it's like night and day. You'd think you had two different towns side by side." Oscar was a little taken back

"Pull in there." Oscar pointed and Johanna worked at getting to the parking lot. "Access is a pain but lots of parking," he commented. "It's a Wendy's®," Johanna pointed out. "No, it used to be a Wendy's®. This place is closed, let's take a look." Oscar suggested and had everyone outside walking the perimeter while looking inside.

"The benches and tables are still here, sort of." Several looked damaged. "Looks like the owner left all of the kitchen equipment. Meaning I'll bet the place is filled with grease. The oil in the fryers is probably solid by now," he commented. "GROSS!" Kate loudly declared she was swearing off burgers from now on causing Oscar to chuckle.

"Likely the rooftop units are newer and in good shape, we might be able to re-use them. Most burger kitchens are too small for a full food restaurant though. Hm." Oscar was thinking of something. "Care to share with the class?" Rick asked as Kate smiled since it felt like Oscar was taking all of them to school.

"This is probably for sale meaning we have a boundary line that is ours. A certain amount of parking is ours and yet the strip mall could be our overflow parking. If we pull this front wall all the way out here with no parking directly out front and leave just a drive thru to satisfy the Fire Department..."

"Pull the seating all the way out to here and we could easily extend the kitchen to make it as large as we need. If the walk-ins are too small we just add one or two out back. The site will already have a grease interceptor that will need to be cleaned out quarterly minimum." Oscar was thinking out loud.

"Sounds like money," Johanna pointed out. "The expansion, yes a little. We could possibly get away with just needing to add an A/C unit to serve the addition. We would need to gut the entire place. Need a bigger natural gas entrance. Replace the electrical entrance which won't be cheap. However, we won't need to build our own building and I'm betting this place already has a fire riser so your place won't burn down and it will lower your insurance rates." He was still liking the place. "Keep the restrooms in the same general area reducing costs though we would likely need to expand them by one stall each depending on how many seats this place has now and how many you will have."

"It's closed so it failed," Johanna remarked, which to her meant this location was a bust. "It's a bad spot for fast food. The entrance and exit to this place sucks. People who want fast food want in and out with little trouble. They want to drive in, get their food, and drive back out. You, on the other hand, want people to come in, park and stay. This place has that in spades. Plus the main road, if I'm correct, is right out there." He pointed. "We can make this place work, we just need to gut it and build an addition, go through permits, get it designed inside and out, and you could have yourself a very nice restaurant."

"It's not way outside of town so people don't have far to go. Replace the sign and get it as high as code will allow and people from the highway might see it. We could add an advertisement sign out on the road telling them you're here and where to get off," he said, his brain running at high speed.

"You mean those blue information signs? Food, gas, lodging," Rick asked. "That too." Oscar was actually thinking a billboard out on 85 and maybe another on 16.

"First we need to find out who owns it, what the price is, and get the price down. Talk to the city or county first before we spend money needlessly. We need their building codes and ordinances to find out what we can and cannot do," Oscar stated.

"And who do we get to do that?" Johanna questioned since it all sounded like a lot of work. "You leave that to me. Before I leave on Saturday, I'll know what the city and/or county expects, who owns it, and what it costs to buy it. After that we decide what you are going to sell sin the way of food o I can figure out how much kitchen you need. Design the floor plan, get electrical, mechanical, and plumbing out here to do a site visit and find out what we have and what we need to change," he said.

"Can we do some of that before I buy it?" Johanna asked. "Absolutely! There was no way I was going to let you buy it without knowing what was already here so we can decide if we can keep it or replace it. We just need the keys." Oscar answered her question. "And who is going to do all that?" Johanna questioned. "I am, or more accurately, my company is," Oscar told her. "And you cost what?" He wasn't going to do all that for free.

"That, my future restaurant owner, has already been taken care of. You simply need to pay to buy it, pay for the remodel, pay for the kitchen equipment and the tables, chairs, paint, menus, table cloths, pictures, other décor items. etcetera," Oscar told her.

"Rick?" Kate questioned softly. Rick simply placed a finger over his lips "Shh." Her response was to grab his face and kiss him which had her internal voice humming with contentment and Alexis smiling since she was watching.


	15. Chapter 15

**CH15**

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kate questioned Rick while they drove back to their place. "Knowing Oscar, he's bombarding her with questions which is probably a good thing. If he's going to help her and give her the restaurant that she wants and is happy with, she needs to answer his questions," Rick said. "I hope Mom is ready for this," Kate remarked and kept her eyes on the Jeep Cherokee out in front of them.

"I know she's a good cook, but does she like to cook? Really like to cook?" Rick had his own questions. "I know she likes to cook. Cooking for a lot of people for hours on end? That I don't know. …I just know she doesn't want to be a lawyer anymore. It brings up too many bad memories."

"Your father," Rick said, not really questioning. "Yeah, we took his death hard. Mom more than me. Until I dragged her out to Yellowstone for a vacation, I was sure she was slowly killing herself. It was during that trip that I saw my mother again and it gave me the idea to move out here. Get away from the memories in New York City. I hope she likes this idea. Mom needs something to do," she said. "Or she'll slip back into depression," he finished for her and she nodded.

They were back to sitting around the Beckett's dining room table. "I know I've laid a lot on your plate, so to speak. Just a little joke," Oscar remarked and watched Johanna hold up her hand and place her finger and thumb close together, causing Oscar, Rick, and Kate to chuckle.

"Before you show me your menu ideas, let me show you a few. Let's start with this one." Oscar handed her one that came out of his portfolio case. Johanna looked it over. "Pressed foie gras, Ravioli of lobster, Roast pigeon." She made a face and placed it on the table rejecting it. "That one was from a Gordon Ramsey Restaurant in London," Oscar explained. "Well I'm certainly not eating there. Pigeon? Really?" Johanna said, making a face. He handed over another one. "Hand-cut Ribeyes, New York Strip Steak, Filet Mignon." Rick's stomach rumbling got her to stop. "Sorry," he said, red-faced. "Sounds like a steak house," Johanna said. "All located in North Carolina and Virginia to be precise, but yes, a steak house," Oscar told her and watched as Johanna placed it on the table and shook her head. He handed over yet another one. "Loaded Brisket Enchiladas, Crispy Brewhouse Chicken, Grilled onion sirloin with gravy, Cedar grilled lemon chicken," Johanna read off the list. "That sounds a lot more like you Mom," Kate pointed out based on the meals she had been eating for days. "That happens to be an Applebee's Restaurant," Oscar explained. "They also serve burgers and drinks, meaning they have a liquor license and a bar. Some are extremely well lit while others are very dark inside. A few are sports themed meaning they have pictures of sports like football all over the walls. Some are for high school kids and others are more corporate looking," he added.

"Could we do a more natural nature theme, like something to do with Yellowstone maybe?" Johanna asked, fearful that Oscar would shoot her down. "ABSOLUTELY! We could put up man-made veneer stone walls that look and feel like the real thing at a fraction of the cost. We could put in a gas fireplace or two, especially in the addition you will need. Wood tables with wood chairs that have a wicker back and seat, wood-looking floors since I'm going to recommend a vinyl product that looks like real wood. It will stand up to heavy traffic better and not mark up your floors with every slide of a chair."

"We could use mason jars with handles for your glasses. Your employees could be dressed up as cowgirls or guys," Oscar suggested. "Meaning I would have to provide them something to wear." Johanna saw more dollar signs. "Any place you choose you are going to want your employees to look the part whatever your restaurant is. Black shirt, black pants, black shoes, black tie with your name or logo on the shirt. So yes," he tried to explain.

"You don't have to go too western. A plain pair of boot-cut jeans and a western shirt with a bolo tie for everyone perhaps. Simple and understated, plain black sneakers. You supply the shirt and bolo tie and your workers supply everything else," Oscar said.

"Now show me your menu ideas and let's see if we have a winner," he asked her as they watched Johanna get up and go into the kitchen. "Oh and lots and lots of pictures and other treasures from Yellowstone would be nice. Hire a skilled photographer to take pictures and frame and mount them," he remarked.

Johanna was back with the list of what she had subjected her daughter to along with a few notes. "This is suspiciously a lot like the Applebees menu though I see a number of differences and variations. A word of warning, a place like we're talking about is going to expect steaks or BBQ. Even if all you do is offer 2 different options of each, I would highly recommend adding them to your menu. Oh and don't forget to add a kids' menu, smaller portions with a smaller price," Oscar added. "With more chicken perhaps. Something with fewer spices. You want to have kids wanting to coming back and hounding their parents to do just that," he added. "Paper cowboy hats," Rick said. "That might work. Simple and inexpensive and gets the kids involved." Oscar liked it.

"What do I do?" Johanna questioned. "Finish your menu list of items and get it over to me. I'll break it down and find out what it costs to make each item and give you a cost of what it takes to make it and a suggest price to sell it at that will give you a profit. I'll hire the photographer, find someone to design and make the paper hats, tables, chairs and everything else. Wrap it all up and show you what it will cost. In the mean time I'll be downtown all day tomorrow chasing down codes, inspectors, local contractors, and finding out who owns that building and what it will take to take it off their hands. I also want to get my hands on a key so we can get inside. Back at the office I'll get started on the expansion and remodel and have something in your hands for you to see in about a month, maybe a day or two less. I'll also get someone out here to survey the building to find out what we have to work with next week."

"If we're careful and quick we might have you up and operational a little after the 4th of July, before if we can manage it. People like to eat out for the holidays," Oscar mentioned. "It'll be tight, but we might make it.

"NOW, show me this upstairs kitchen of yours." He was on a roll and he wanted to finish and get started. Kate took him upstairs along with everyone else. Rick and Alexis had never been up there. "Perhaps I should send you an interior decorator for this living room, too," Oscar offered. "The house came that way I didn't do it," Kate said, defending herself. Besides she didn't think it was that bad. It was a little masculine for her taste though. "I'll send her out next week too, free of charge. Now show me this kitchen," he asked. "It's this way." Kate led him to the little doorway that went into the separate kitchen.

"MY GOD! This is terrible!" Oscar didn't spare her feelings, though she wasn't a fan of it either. "The floor is awful, these cabinets look like they were made in a high school woodworking class." Then he lifted up the countertop; she had no idea that could be done. "The countertop isn't even attached to the bottom cabinet. …Did you have this house inspected before you bought it?" he asked and watched Kate and Johanna nod. "If he didn't say anything about this kitchen he should be shot." Oscar looked around.

"Nice window at least. Okay, we gut this place right down to the studs and floor joists. Lay new subfloor, install some nice hardwoods, some new custom cabinets, get appliances that were at least manufactured in this century. Remove this wall or at least open it up as much as we can. It's a big space, I'll give it that. Lots of room we can work with, but this mess has got to go. I'll send you a design for this place along with a cost to do it when I send Johanna hers in about a month. I'll tell Linda that we are gutting this room and opening it up before I send her. Better have a bucket ready when she sees this kitchen, she may throw up." Oscar was exaggerating of course, but still. "Get me out of here, I've seen enough. You leave that space to me and this space to Linda and we'll have this place looking like Rick's in no time, maybe even better," he teased.

"I'm standing right here you know. I can hear you." Rick pretended to be hurt, causing Johanna and Oscar to laugh a little at his expense. "Now, what's for dinner? After all of this talk of food I'm starving," Oscar announced. "OH!" Johanna raced downstairs.

"Will this work? I mean can we really do this?" Kate wondered. "Piece of cake. You and your mother just need to bring up ideas and approve or reject mine and we'll have a restaurant that will outshine anything in this town and for miles around it. Now I heard there were cookies in this place," Oscar said. "Alexis, you want to show Oscar where Johanna hides the cookies?" Rick told her and watched him follow her downstairs.

"Rick..." Kate began. "Look, Kate, I really am sorry. I was just trying to help. Plus I knew a few people that might be able to help her. I wasn't…" He shut up when she placed a finger over his lips. "My mother is alive again, Rick and that means more to me than anything. I was so sure I was going to lose her too. I was at a loss as what to do. Coming out here was my one big gamble. If this didn't work… So thank you." Then she pulled his head down and kissed him, asking permission for her tongue to enter and started searching his mouth when granted. When she broke from the kiss she let him hold her close as she buried her head in his chest. It felt like a number of her fears left her when he did that. ' _Why do you resist him and me?'_ She heard the voice in her head again. It had an air of royalty to it, though it sounded rough instead of like it had been recently - a sweet song and delicate. The times before that it had sounded rough and a little gravely. Nothing like any voice she had ever heard. ' _Why can't you just…'_ **ENOUGH!** Kate silently shouted and the voice shut up. Just where the hell did that voice come from anyway? And if it didn't stop soon, she was going to lose what was left of her mind, she was sure of it. **AND WHY HER?**

Johanna was slaving away in HER kitchen and had already shooed Kate and Oscar out while she made dinner. This time she placed it all on the dining room table and let everyone serve themselves. "This is interesting, what's this?" Oscar pointed to a dish. "That's tandoori carrots with spices and yogurt." Johanna answered his question and watched Oscar point to another one. "Sheet-pan paella with chorizo and shrimp. It was supposed to have mussels according to my mother's recipe, but I didn't have any so I did without," she explained. Oscar pointed to the only other dish on the table. "Mushroom and noodle soup. Oh! I forgot the bowls for the soup." She scrambled back to the kitchen. "She adds those steaks and BBQ and your mother just might have something." Oscar was dying to try them.

Johanna was sitting there looking at all of them, worried. "The chorizo and shrimp could probably use the mussels next time, just one or two should be enough, but it was lovely. The carrots could use a little less spice for my taste but was nice, and the soup..." Oscar rolled his head in delight. "It was exquisite, but then I'm a sucker for mushrooms so you had me sold when you put it on the table," he laughed and Johanna and Kate started breathing again.

"If the other meals you have subjected your daughter to are as good as this one, your only problem is deciding which ones to actually put on the menu. Though I do have one final piece of advice: create a summer menu and a winter menu. Use ingredients you can easily get during summer and heavier meals for winter. People want to be warm after they eat before venturing outside into 30 below zero temperatures," he advised.

Rick, Oscar, Alexis, and the dogs were leaving with Alexis carrying her plate of cookies. "Don't forget, we need that menu. The summer menu so we can start figuring out pricing and if you can, the winter menu too. You have a month so start cooking examples of your menu and fatten these three up!" He gestured to Rick, Kate, and Alexis. "Got it," Johanna confirmed. "I'll have some sketches, color schemes and a price estimate for you, what it takes for you to open. It will include everything you need to open with. Line item by line item with the cost for each. It will be some hard reading so I suggest you divide and conquer when it shows up."

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Johanna Beckett and when you have the time, start playing around with names. Something that fits the Yellowstone theme that you've decided on. Pick your favorites first to last and I'll do a search to see if that name has already been used and if we can modify it somehow to avoid a lawsuit, which would be bad," Oscar informed her. "I'm a lawyer, bring it on," Johanna responded which only had Kate glowing. Her mother was even willing to fight. "I'll keep that in mind. Goodnight."

"Rick." Johanna stopped him. "I may have…I mean, I don't… Thank you," Johanna said in a rush, her words coming in bits and pieces. "You're welcome and I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to overstep. I truly thought I was just helping. Oh, and Oscar is a widower so he's not married," Rick told her. "Get out before I shoot you and break my daughter's heart," Johanna growled at him. "Yes ma'am!" Rick made a hasty retreat. "Not married. You better like him a lot Katie because I'm liable to kill him if you don't." Johanna closed the door on the lot of them and headed for the kitchen to clean up, not waiting for Kate to protest that she didn't like Rick that much.

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It took Johanna almost the entire month to finish her menu:

 **E** very table got four slices of Russian black bread and butter

 **Appetizers:**

 **L** obster toasts with avocado and espelette pepper

 **S** moked salmon rillettes

 **S** avory mushroom and parmesan palmiers

 **S** pinach puffs

 **P** rosciutto-wrapped grissini (pork on a cracker stick)

 **P** runes in crispy bacon

 **S** panish-style tomato toast with garlic and olive oil

 **G** rilled jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon

 **Entrée** **s** **:**

 **C** hili meatballs in black bean and tomato sauce

 **C** hicken Bolognese with crispy oregano

 **B** utternut squash verducken (scallions into a zucchini into an eggplant into a squash) – vegetarian dish

 **V** enison Kabobs with sweet and smoky sauce

 **B** BQ Rib-eye with bacon laid on top served with Au Gratin-Pumpkin layered casserole and green bean, grape, and pasta toss

 **V** enison stew with crescent rolls on top

 **A** sian Rainbow trout served with fresh Asian vegetables

 **R** osemary braised lamb shanks served with red garlic mashed potatoes and spinach casserole

 **S** low cooker venison roast served with three cheese potatoes and green beans, grapes, and pasta toss

 **P** an-fried whole trout served with pickled asparagus and red garlic mashed potatoes

 **V** enison Schnitzel served with red garlic mashed potatoes and spinach casserole

 **P** heasant breast stuffed with apples in cider vinegar and prune sauce served with three cheese potatoes and grilled asparagus

 **H** addock Marinara served with linguine

 **B** eef Wellington served with Spinach casserole and rolls

 **R** oot Beer and sesame glazed BBQ ribs served with Roasted garlic French bread and red garlic mashed potatoes covered with pork sausage gravy

 **Soups:**

 **B** utterball soup

 **H** ot and sour soup with shrimp

 **S** pinach and wild rice soup

 **W** ild mushroom noodle soup

 **Desserts:**

 **T** humbprint cookies

 **S** unflower seed cookies

 **M** olasses cookies

 **T** arantula cookies complete with legs and red eyes

 **R** ainbow cookies

 **G** iant chocolate-toffee cookies

 **B** lack and white cookies

 **F** ruit and cookie crust pizza

 **C** herry double chocolate cookies

 **B** uffalo chip cookies

 **T** riple ginger cookies

 **S** pice cookies with crystalized ginger

 **C** hocolate strawberries

 **L** emon mint pound cake served with berries

 **C** oca Cola Cake

Oscar had replied that he would get pricing back to her within a week.

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Rick drove Oscar into town and didn't hear from him again until almost dinner. He picked him up with Alexis and the dogs then drove over to Johanna and Kate's house.

"So what's on the menu tonight?" Oscar asked after he sat down with a glass of wine while Rick pulled out one of his beers. Kate and Johanna had wine also. "Tonight is Mongolian Beef on white sticky rice," Johanna answered. "I'm not convinced it should go on the menu since it's a little too Asian, but I wanted to try it since Katie and I will be eating menu items for the next few weeks," she remarked. "I volunteer myself and Alexis for when Kate works the afternoon shift," Rick said helpfully.

"So you're not the cook's helper, what do you do?" Oscar asked Kate. "I start work as a deputy sheriff for the county beginning next weekend. I had to buy my own uniforms, can you believe that!? Three of them, no less. Plus I look terrible in light brown," she moaned. "You didn't tell me you had to buy your own uniforms," Johanna pointed out. "Must have slipped my mind," Kate said. ' _Yeah you were too busy kissing Rick.'_ The voice sounded happy and a little softer. Kate could only growl back internally.

Oscar had new respect for Johanna's daughter. Being a county deputy sheriff sounded like a difficult and demanding job.

"Well I want to thank you for the meal and the honor of spending the day with you. I think you're going to love what we come up with. Once I have the cost you can look into securing the necessary funds. Just remember to add 15% onto the total I send you for contingencies. One never knows what will come up during construction. Plus we may need to change materials due to manufacturer shortages and need to pick something more expensive that is immediately available. If we're going to meet the July 4th deadline we can't have any delays," he said as he made his farewells.

Rick drove Oscar, Alexis, and the dogs back to his place.

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Come 6:00 in the morning Rick and Oscar were in the truck headed for the Rapid City Airport. As they traveled Rick asked, "What did you think Oscar, honestly?"

"I was being honest. The only fear I have is if Johanna really is committed to running a restaurant and all the work that takes. She can't just be back in the kitchen and ignore everything else. She needs to keep close control over how much food she has. Pay the bills. Hire and keep her employees happy. A very important item is keeping the health inspector happy. She needs to be in the upper 90s each time he comes out. One hundred if she can manage it, which is tough to do. Customers really do look for those things. She falls into the 80s and she can kiss the place goodbye until she brings it back up and maybe not even then. In a town of this size people talk," Oscar mentioned.

"Book keeping." Rick said. "Yes, very important. You don't want your restaurant running in the red. Serve everything fresh as you can especially the vegetables. Most people understand that fresh fish here just isn't going to happen. It'll get shipped frozen until thawed and cooked. Everything else like steaks should be fresh from wherever she can get it. Rapid City most likely. Some may be weekly deliveries. Perishables may be closer to daily or every other day. Spinach, mushrooms just to name a couple," Oscar advised.

"You think Newcastle is big enough for another restaurant?" It was Rick's only fear.

"Without question. Think back to where you used to live. Just how many restaurants of any type did you have within walking distance, let alone by taxi? For the really good ones, you would drive into Manhattan from the Bronx to get there."

"She needs to make sure the locals love her place and come often. They're going to be her base. What she gets off of the highway will simply be ice cream that goes with her fruit pie. That group will simply increase her profits."

"I hope she comes up with a good name. People will remember something unique." Oscar remarked. "So Jo's Fine Food without the 'E' would be bad." Rick didn't want Oscar to shoot down his choice, but it sounded like he would. "Most definitely. What she is talking about has a little class, not a fly-by-night corner restaurant in a tired old town in a tired old building. Don't tell me, Jo's Fine Food was your idea?" Oscar was fast for his age. He started chortling at Rick's expense. "Well I'm glad she took your idea of a restaurant. A lawyer should have the tenacity to keep on top of things and not hold any punches to get her prices from distributors and shippers down. She's going to need to be tenacious or they'll take her for all she's worth," Oscar warned Rick who made a note to tell Johanna and Kate.

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Rick had something to do the second they got home which had him on his laptop to get it shipped to him before Kate started work: _**Kicking Horse Whole Bean Coffee, Three Sisters Medium Roast.**_


	16. Chapter 16

**CH16**

Rick had only just parked when Paige, Jenny, and their respective parents showed up. "Rick, good to see you again. I know you said it was a lot, but man, that's a huge pile of boxes!" James, Paige's father, exclaimed.

"It's a big playset. However according to their website and the installation instructions I downloaded and printed out, each of these bundles is one item. Tower, the other tower, the swings, the bridge, the picnic table, and the slides. We just have to get one bundle at a time up to the site where we're going to build it," Rick explained.

"Okay, that sounds easier. Do we carry each box up to your site?" James asked. "Nope. Let me get the dogs and the girls inside and settled then I'll be right back," Rick told them. Everyone went inside til the garage door opened. They all heard an engine start and watched Rick drive out on a quad. James and Randy, Jenny's father, had huge grins on their faces. Maybe it was going to be easier than they feared.

The largest tower's box got strapped to the quad as James and Randy walked each bundle of boxes up to the site. "It goes here?" Randy was looking at the giant-sized prepared site. "You weren't kidding, it really is big. Do I even want to ask what it cost you?" Randy inquired. "On second thought don't answer that. Veronica's just going to want one for Jenny." It was something he couldn't begin to afford.

The wives helped strap down the next batch of boxes while the guys got the third batch four foot long stakes were first things to go in; they had to be driven into the ground and would be used to secure the entire thing. Tower II with balcony was first and all they had to do was attach part A to part B using bolt AA with washer BB and nut CC. It was built on its side until it was time to lift it into place and attach it to the four rods already pounded into the ground.

Next came the balcony that got attached to the side of the tower. Then the cabin that enclosed the lower half of the tower. The wives came out with lunch. "I love your kitchen," Vicki told Rick. "Kitchen nothing, I love the entire house. It's gorgeous Rick, it really is," Veronica declared. "Thanks, we like it. I started the design with an architect a little over 2 years ago. From listening to the people in town, I think you know how long it took to build it," Rick mentioned. "Yeah, I think half the town came out here to look every month or more. All we saw was mostly the outside, but the inside is amazing. You can even see the wall of windows in the living room from here," Veronica said, turning to look.

Lunch was late so they only managed to get the second tower about half done, leaving it lying on the ground. "Same time next Saturday?" Rick asked wanting to make sure the schedule still worked for everyone. "Yep, we'll be here. Can't wait to see what this thing looks like when it's completed. Come on Paige, time to go home. Say goodbye to Alexis and let's go," James yelled. Rick and Alexis watched everyone drive away.

"What do you think pumpkin? Think you'll like it?" he asked her. Alexis just stared at the tower that was up and the partial one that was lying on the ground. "Not to worry, it has slides, ladders, a rock wall, and swings. It even has your very own picnic table. There's also your very own little house under the tower." He walked her over to the tower and opened the door so she could go in. Inside were walls and a ladder going up. "We can paint in here if you want. Put in a chair or two maybe. It'll be great. Come on sweetie, I need to start dinner." Rick got her moving.

"Are we going to go see Kate?" Lately they had been over at the Beckett's quite frequently and Alexis really liked it a lot. "Not until after school on Monday. Until then you're stuck with my cooking," he told her and watched her shoulders slump. _'I know how you feel pumpkin, but I don't want to overwhelm them by seeing them every day.'_ he was thinking to himself.

Rick and Alexis were downstairs in the game room shooting pool with Alexis using her little step stool to gain the height she needed when Rick heard the alarm on his laptop go off. It told him a sensor had picked up something and the bear in him was now wide awake. He went to his laptop in the living room and pulled up the map that showed the sensor at the road entrance had gone off. "You're leaving in an ambulance at best this time Dad," Rick growled as the bear within was getting all worked up for the confrontation.

He went outside to look and saw a dark green Jeep driving up and instantly his bear went from eager for a fight to _'Kiss her, just kiss her. That's all I ask.'_

Rick watched Kate walk up the steps to the front door dressed in sweats with a t-shirt under the open sweat shirt. "Hi Rick. Mom made another of her dinners and I'm so full I'm going to pop. I was wondering if your offer…" He interrupted her. "The exercise room is downstairs, help yourself. You're always welcome." He was glad to have her over and motioned for her to go in first.

"I really need to work off Mom's cooking and get back into shape for when I start my job. I've gotten lazy since we left New York and I'm out of shape," Kate told him and jogged down the stairs leaving him behind. Rick, however, was thinking, "Your shape is perfect, absolutely perfect."

' _I second the motion_ _,' ca_ _me from his bear. 'Go down and exercise with her. We could watch her breasts… We could watch her work up a sweat before stripping and going into the sauna, followed by a naked steam shower, followed by…'_ His bear was on a roll. "Down boy, down. You want a onetime roll in the hay or do you want her forever?" Rick countered and his bear shut-up. It left Rick wondering what Alexis was doing.

"HI KATE!" Alexis ran over and wrapped her arms around Kate's legs. "Hi Alexis, what are you doing down here all alone?" she asked. "Dad and I were playing pool. I have my very own stick to use and I use my step stool so I can see," Alexis told her all excited. "Well I came over to use the exercise equipment so you and your dad can go back to shooting pool if you want. He's upstairs," Kate said. "Can I watch?" Alexis asked her. "Watch me exercise? It's going to be very boring, but I suppose so." Kate went into the room and let Alexis enter and started doing her stretches before doing anything and started giggling when she saw Alexis mimicking her. She moved both of them to stand in front of the mirror. "Like this, watch me." She pointed to the mirror and started stretching again, occasionally helping Alexis with one of the moves.

"I suppose you're going to exercise with me?" Kate asked her and watched her nod while smiling widely. "Okay, I'll take the stair stepper and you can have the treadmill. Do you know how to use it?" she questioned her as Alexis shook her head looking a little sad. It took no time at all and Kate was using the stair stepper while Alexis was slowly jogging next to her smiling at Kate from time to time. "Trade you," Kate suggested and took off her sweat shirt revealing an NYPD t-shirt underneath. Then off came her sweat pants revealing a pair of shorts that exposed her long legs. In no time at all Alexis was slowly walking upstairs while Kate was jogging, working up to running full out.

Alexis was worn out and tired of using the stair stepper. She started to sit down. "No, don't sweetie, you need to walk around first. You need to cool down first, not just sit down. Go walk out around the pool table and come back and do it again," she told her and watched Alexis walk out the door. Kate was running for all she was worth when Alexis came back and then left again. She only did that three times before she sat down on the floor and watched Kate run. Kate figured it was enough and let her be.

Rick finally couldn't take it any longer and went downstairs with something for Kate to drink, only when he reached the door to the exercise room all he saw was Kate in a tight t-shirt that was mostly wet from sweat. Even worse, he could see that she wasn't wearing a bra. And then there was the fact that she was wearing those shorts. All of his blood went south and his heart rate went way up. Kate Beckett pounding the punching bag while occasionally giving it a swift kick was like a walking wet dream. He managed to back out of the room, placed his back up against the wall, and squeezed his eyes closed. Not that it did any good getting rid of the picture that was now burned forever into his brain. He slid down the wall til he was sitting on the floor.

He was doing all he could not to go in there and ravage her, not that the bear inside him was helping, because it wasn't. "We're not going to rape her, we're going to make love to her. Please, for the love of god calm down," Rick begged his bear that just wanted Kate and wanted her now!

Rick suddenly opened his eyes and saw Alexis standing in front of him. "You okay Dad?" Alexis asked him, having been inside sitting on the floor watching Kate when her dad started to enter only to leave again. Right now he didn't look too good. "I'm fine, I'll be fine. You want to give this to Kate? She might be thirsty by now." He handed Alexis the bottle of Gatorade that he had in his hand. Alexis took it but didn't move. "I'm fine pumpkin, honest. Just go give that to Kate." And he watched Alexis go back into the exercise room.

Alexis stood where Kate could see her and offered up the bottle of Gatorade. Kate stopped, removed one of her gloves, and took the bottle. "Thank you Alexis, that's very sweet of you," she told her and promptly drank half of it in one go, not knowing just how badly she needed a drink. "Dad brought it for you. I think he's sick." To Alexis he certainly didn't look good, so that equated to his being sick.

"Oh, where is he?" Kate asked as Alexis pointed to the other room. Kate drank half of what was left while walking to the next room where she found Rick sitting on the floor. She kneeled down in front of him. "Rick?" To her he mostly looked fine. He, however, saw a sweaty Kate kneel down in front of him in a t-shirt that showed him almost everything except bare skin. And the smell of her sweat was driving his bear into the upper atmosphere taking Rick with him.

Rick couldn't stop himself, he just couldn't, it was too primal for him to control. He was up on his knees in a second, took Kate in his arms, and was kissing her. He did his best to devour her mouth as he used his tongue to slide across her lower lip, begging for entrance. When her lips parted just a fraction he was in and searching her mouth. Everything about Kate at this point in time was intoxicating; he couldn't get enough, the bear inside him couldn't get enough. Kate was initially shocked at what Rick did, however as soon as her lips parted granting him entrance, she wrapped her arms around him while holding onto her bottle of Gatorade and kissed him back.

It soon became a battle of tongues as each tried to devour the others mouth. She needed air and broke from the kiss just long enough to notice that her entire chest was crushed up against him and that she wanted him. A rip-his-clothes-off-and-take-him-on-the-floor-right-here-and-right-now kind of want. Rick went back to kissing her and moved his hands all over her sweaty back. Kate moaned into the kiss wanting those hands on her breasts since she wasn't wearing a bra, willing him to pull her t-shirt off so his lips could do amazing things to her now rock-hard nipples.

' _Make love to her, not fuck her. Make love to her, not fuck her._ _'_ Rick finally started repeating over and over inside his head until his bear relinquished control. He broke from the kiss and saw Kate's eyes were still closed and her lips were becoming swollen from the savage kisses that they had both enjoyed. "Kate, I…" He watched her open her eyes and they each saw how badly each wanted the other.

Then a thought hit Rick. "Alexis," he whispered, which got Kate to open her eyes wide and turn her head at the same time he did. They both saw Alexis standing there smiling at them. "Alexis, sweetie…" Kate found her voice first only to end up with Alexis in her arms forcing Kate to let go of Rick. This hug from Alexis almost felt as good as the ones Rick gave her. And then there was that voice in the back of her head again. _'Protect, protect_ _!_ _'_ Kate didn't understand why but she really did want to protect Alexis. But she just didn't know what to protect her from exactly.

Then Alexis quickly hugged Rick and started to make a break for it only to have him catch her by the arm. "Pumpkin, Kate is all sweaty and stinky. Why don't you show her where the bathroom is, get her a towel, and introduce her to the sauna. You can do the same and give me a minute and I'll join you. How about that?" he offered. Alexis nodded enthusiastically since it meant she got to spend time more time with Kate. She took hold of Kate's hand and started pulling. Kate got up off the floor and went into the bathroom.

Alexis got her a towel and Kate stripped while Alexis got herself a towel and did the same. Kate felt a little weird being naked in a bathroom with an almost naked 6-year-old girl, but it was fast and Alexis wasn't looking at her. Kate was fast and had the towel wrapped around herself in seconds. They ran into Rick on the way out of the bathroom. "What's this?" Kate tapped the frosted glass door of the space next to the sauna. "It's a steam shower," he told her and slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Kate was sitting back waiting for the heat to build up when Rick entered and sat next to her with Alexis facing them on the other side. Kate leaned back and closed her eyes til she felt Rick's hand take hold of hers. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her, smiling widely. A quick look at Alexis found her smiling widely too. Kate smiled back, leaned back, and closed her eyes. He was still holding her hand though he had started rubbing circles on it using his thumb. She never noticed but the smile never left her as the heat built up til they were all hot and sweaty.

Kate finally sat forward and grabbed her towel before it could fall open and reveal everything. "I should probably go home. I only came over here to work off Mom's cooking." Rick took Kate's hand back into his. "At the risk of repeating myself, you can come over anytime you like. Use the exercise room, challenge me to a game of pool or air hockey. Play cards, use the theater room to watch a movie. It even has a popcorn machine inside," he told her, though what he really wanted to do was invite her to spend the night except they hadn't even gone out on a date yet.

"Thanks I'll keep that in mind. …I'm going to go change." She got up, entered the bathroom, and found three sets of clothes scattered about. Hers, Alexis's and Rick' had her rolled up wet t-shirt in her hand along with her shorts and was only wearing the sweats she had arrived in when she emerged to find Rick and Alexis standing there. "Thank you for the use of your equipment and the sauna," she said.

"Grab your clothes pumpkin and go upstairs I'll be right there to give you a bath." Rick told her and waited until Alexis left. "Go out with me?" he asked. "Like on a date, date?" Kate questioned. "I don't know what there is to do in town but surely we can find something. Pizza Barn has pizza, beer, and games. We could go bowling afterwards maybe. If you're afraid of being alone with me we could bring Alexis," he teased while smiling. Actually in some ways Kate _was_ afraid of being alone with Rick. That kiss earlier had almost led to something she wasn't ready for. She hadn't been with anyone since Will and he had left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I don't know when my first day off work is. I could find out and let you know," Kate offered. "I'll wait for your call then," Rick replied and then kissed her. She was all set to wrap her arms around him and really kiss him back when he stopped and let go of her. "Remember, you can come over anytime." Kate took her cue, went upstairs, and out to her jeep. Her heart was pounding out of her chest all the way home. It was only an 18-wheeler sounding his horn that got her out of the clouds. It looked like a refrigerated truck and Kate couldn't think of anything north of here for it to be going to. Still she went across the road and home.

Alexis was quiet during her bath, however she was full of questions but she kept them to herself for now.

Kate was washing her face standing in her bathroom upstairs naked. She noticed that her nipples were still hard and she was also horny as hell. Not that it was the first time nor likely to be the last. _'We were so close, so close,'_ the voice inside her head spoke again. "Will you shut-up! And just where the hell did you come from anyway? I'm losing my mind. I'm talking to myself. I can even see my lips move when I talk," Kate moaned and got into bed. She reached over to open her end table drawer and pulled out Freddie.

She started stroking her lips while occasionally paying attention to her still rock-hard nipples until she was wet enough then slipped Freddie inside her and started stroking him in and out of her. Her mind, however, only saw Rick above her and felt him inside her, fucking her. Turning the end of Freddie turned him on and the vibrations helped a little, but even in her mind Freddie was no substitute for what it would feel like to have Rick's big… GOD, BUT SHE WAS HORNY!

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Kate missed her and while she knew what she was going to say, she needed that little push. She had her cell phone in hand while she was in town doing some shopping. It got a lot colder here in winter than she ever imagined. Plus they were on sale to make way for summer stuff. It took will power but she pressed send and waited. "Dr. Parish," Kate heard her answer. "Hi Lanie," Kate said sheepishly, knowing why she had called in the first place. "KATE!" Lanie all but yelled into her phone. "How have you been? Please tell me you made the right choice." Lanie wanted to hear even if Kate hadn't too, but she just wanted her best friend to be happy.

"I'm doing good. I start my new job in a couple of days. I have to go collect my government issued car tomorrow. I'm not really looking forward to that. I'll probably be issued the lone Ford Pinto that still runs." She laughed a little. "Government issued? Where are you working? Court house? Fire Department?" Lanie had some other guesses but was willing to let Kate tell her. "You are talking to the newest member of the Weston County Sheriff's Office. I'm a sheriff's deputy," Kate told her. "NO WAY! You're back to being a beat cop?"

"Well actually I have the entire county to patrol. Tiny little towns, individual houses out in the middle of nowwheresville. At least I'm not likely to get spousal abuse calls. I'm more likely get called to find out who stole who's chicken, cow, or horse. One thing's for sure, my butt's going to hurt from sitting in a car all day again," Kate added, trying to make light of being in a car all day. "So that's why your butt is so skinny?" Lanie teased. "Funny Lanie, really funny," Kate said dryly.

"Now for the million dollar question…how's your mother?" Kate started breathing again when Lanie didn't ask if she had found anyone or was dating anyone. Even though she did have a date tomorrow. With his daughter.

"Actually Mom is doing great. Rick talked her into opening a restaurant and Mom is so excited about it. If she keeps cooking her menu items we're all going to be fat in no time." Kate was laughing. "Who's Rick?" His name was all Lanie heard. Kate let her chin fall to her chest; she had just opened up herself to pit-bull Lanie without noticing it. "Rick and his daughter live across the road. He had been watching over the house for the people that used to live here," she explained.

"So he's married." Lanie was bummed. "Actually…" Kate couldn't say it. "So he's not married. What's he like? I'm assuming you like him." Lanie went fishing. "He's big, has a broad chest, big arms. His daughter is so sweet." Kate was interrupted by Lanie. "And he's handsome." Lanie said gleefully. "Well, maybe, I haven't really noticed." Kate lied since his naked body had been dancing in her head all last night. "Kate Beckett, don't you lie to me. He's handsome, he's a hunk, and you obviously like him. Have you jumped him yet?" Lanie got right to the point. "LAINE! …No I haven't jumped him," Kate moaned, which was the wrong thing to do. "But you want to. I can almost hear your heavy breathing all the way over here. So have you been out on a date yet?" Lanie wanted information.

"We have one tomorrow actually." Kate bit her bottom lip. Why was this so hard? "Way to go girl. Don't forget to kiss his face off," Lanie instructed her. "Actually we're going to this big pizza place in town and taking Alexis with us," Kate corrected her since there would be likely no kissing involved. "Taking the daughter with you on your first date, huh? Boy, you have got it bad, really bad. I expect a wedding invitation Kate Beckett or I'll smack you so hard you'll end up on the moon." Lanie was working fast. "Lanie we're nowhere near to being married. That's a long ways off, if ever." Kate put a halt to that thought. "Have you at least kissed him yet?" Lanie questioned. Kate's silence spoke volumes. "You have and you loved it. He must be a really good kisser," Lanie commented. "He gives really good hugs too." Kate slapped her hand over her mouth. HELL! Where was her filter when it came to Rick?

"Damn that's my work phone. I gotta go hun. Hug him, kiss him, and jump him, Kate Beckett. Do not let this one get away. And call me more often, like right after you have your way with him." And Lanie hung up. The problem was part of her did want to have her way with him. "It's too soon, just too soon," Kate said to herself.


	17. Chapter 17

**CH17**

She was up, showered, and dressed. It felt really weird to be wearing a uniform again, let alone the giant belt that held all the gear she was wearing. Kate checked her weapon and slid it into her holster.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She had her hair bundled up behind her head and it gave her this serious, greasy, combed back look. It accentuated her face and she kind of thought she liked it. "I look like crap in this color though." She made a disgusted face. Still there was nothing she could do about it so she went downstairs early enough to fix herself breakfast only to smell something cooking as she went down the stairs. Kate found her mother in the kitchen. "There you are! How does it feel wearing a uniform again?" Johanna looked Kate over. She even had a tie, though she had tied it loosely and her collar button was undone.

"Really weird Mom, familiar but weird. What are you doing up so early?" Kate asked. "I'm making my daughter breakfast on her first day on the job, what else would I be doing?" Johanna gave her a glare. "Now sit down and eat; lord knows when you'll eat again. It'll likely be a stupid hot dog or greasy hamburger in some tiny town that doesn't even have a dog for a population." Johanna just knew Kate would probably stop for a burrito even.

Johanna placed a plate on the counter that had two waffles, blueberries, whipped cream, and a strawberry on top and then placed the bottle of 100% maple syrup on the counter. "Now eat like a good girl." Johanna used a tone of voice she hadn't used on Kate since she was five. Still it got Kate to eat until her plate was empty.

"Katie!" Johanna stopped her at the door. She came up and hugged Kate only like a mother could, though if Kate was being truthful, Rick gave better hugs. "Please be careful Katie. I've worried about you ever since you joined the police force. Now you're out in the middle of nowhere with no help for miles." Johanna couldn't help but be concerned.

"I'll be fine Mom, it's nothing I haven't done before. Besides, I'm well trained, I'll be fine." Kate assured her. "I'm still going to worry, it's a mother's prerogative to worry. Someday you're going to find that out." She simply rolled her eyes and kissed her mom's head on her way out to her car. She had picked it up yesterday with her mother's help. "I'd rather drive my Jeep," Kate moaned but this vehicle had government issued items in it and on it. Plus it had space her Jeep didn't.

Kate had her route printed out and entered in her own GPS so she knew where she was going. She drove up to US85. "Turn right on US85," the GPS's female voice said to her. She debated if she should, but her mother didn't give her anything except for what she drank with her waffle. "Fine." She drove straight across the highway. "Make a U-turn," the voice told her. "Oh, shut-up," Kate grumbled at her GPS unit.

She parked up near Rick's garage door noticing that his truck was missing. "Please tell me he didn't go somewhere." Kate got out and walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. What she immediately heard was Midas and Maggie going nuts. It sounded like they were going to rip her limb from limb. She watched the door open and found Rick at the door with Alexis right behind him still dressed in her pajamas. "Deputy Beckett, to what do we owe the pleasure?" he asked as Alexis grinned at her and Midas and Maggie were giving her new outfit a thorough inspection with their noses.

"I was wondering if that offer for coffee was still open?" Kate knew she wasn't going to last long without more coffee. "Do come in Deputy and let me fix you up." He stepped back, opened the door wide, and motioned for her to enter. She went inside with the dogs right behind her and followed Rick and Alexis into the kitchen. "What are you doing up so early Alexis?" Kate asked since the sun wasn't even up yet and the school didn't open for at least another 2 hours.

"Alexis has a field trip as part of her class today and I couldn't get her to go back to sleep," Rick explained as he started pouring coffee into something. "So you must be excited about this trip to be up this early." Kate looked at Alexis and watched her smile bloom and nodded enthusiastically. "It's going to be cool."

"Here you go Deputy Beckett." Rick handed over a metal container. She took it and held up the cord that was hanging from it, looking at him for an explanation. "It's electric, plug it into a power outlet and it'll keep your coffee hot so you don't have to drink cold coffee," he explained. Kate's face softened. "Thanks Rick." She turned to leave but he stopped her. "This is yours, too." He handed over a bag. "It's your lunch. It even has one of those blue frozen cold packs inside to keep it chilled for you. And have I mentioned how much I love a women in uniform?" he inquired.

"Seriously Rick? Did you get that line from one of your movies?" Kate chastised him. "Well, if it makes you feel better..." Rick moved in to whisper into her ear. "I'd be happy to take it off you." The thought of him stripping her of her uniform had her blood turning hot as some of it went south. It wasn't long ago when she had dreamed of him dong just that.

' _Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him.'_ the stupid voice in her head demanded. Kate licked her lips since her mouth was suddenly dry. "Maybe another time Rick. Thanks for the coffee and the lunch." She lifted up both and headed for the front door. He followed her all the way out to her car and was leaning up against it as she started it and rolled down the window. "What is this…thing?" He most definitely didn't approve. "It's a Dodge Durango with absolutely no options on it. I'm guessing I should be grateful that it has a radio and I don't mean the police radio." Kate answered his question.

"And what is the Sheriff driving?" Rick questioned. "He has a 2001 Ford Eddie Bauer version Explorer," she told him, not trying to hide her disgust of this situation. "You get a creepy Dodge while he drives a state of the art Ford Explorer? There's something seriously wrong with this picture," he declared.

"It's fine Rick, I'm the rookie so I get the shit equipment and the shit missions. It happened when I was a rookie with the NYPD. It's nothing new." Kate didn't have a problem with it. "Well, I have a problem with it. What if you break down in this disaster-on-wheels out in the middle of nowhere where there's no cell service?" Rick hated this idea. "Wait right here, do not go anywhere." He pointed at her and ran back inside the house and was back out in moments.

"Here take this with you." Rick handed something over to her. It looked like a phone. "What's this?" Kate didn't understand, she had her own cell phone. "It's my satellite phone, I want you to take it with you just in case." She shoved it back at him and shook her head. "No Rick, I'm not taking your phone." Except he stepped back and didn't take it from her. "I have my cell phone and I have the police radio. I'll be fine." She reached out further to get him to take it back from her, only he just stepped back further.

"Take it, please. Don't make me sit at home and imagine all kinds of things that could go wrong out there. I'm a writer remember, with a very active imagination. Don't do this to me Kate, please." He was already dreaming up scenarios where she ended up dead because she didn't have a phone. "Fine," Kate relented. "Do I get a kiss good-bye?" she asked and gave Rick her best hurt look. He started to take a step forward, all set to plant a big one on her lips when he stopped and stepped back. "So you can shove my own phone down my shirt and take off on me? I don't think so. Now have a nice first day on the job and I'll order another satellite phone." He was on to her tricks.

Kate made a face, irritated that he had figured out her little scheme. "Fine." She placed his satellite phone in a cubby hole of her car. "Do be careful Kate," he urged. "I'll be fine Rick, I've done something like this before," she told him and started her car then began backing up, watching him wave as she drove away.

' _We'll be fine. I'll be here, always.'_ the voice in the back of her head told her. "That's what I'm afraid of," Kate said out loud, worried that the voice would never go away. How was she supposed to stay sane if she kept having a voice in her head talking to her?

"Dad, why did Kate look funny?" Alexis asked after he came back inside. "That's the uniform Kate's required to wear for her work. She'll be gone all day from now on since she has a job," he explained. "Oh." Alexis thought about it. "Will Kate ever come back?" Alexis didn't want for her to leave forever. Rick got down to her level. "Of course she'll be back. A lot of people leave home for the day to work. They work to make money so they can buy things and make their lives better. When I'm on the computer I'm working. I just don't have to go somewhere else to work. Kate has to leave to help people stay safe. They need her. They can't come to her, so she goes to them. She will be back late tonight. Maybe in time to eat with us tonight at her home," he clarified. Johanna had asked Rick and Alexis to come over since her guinea pig was leaving the nest and she needed someone to cook for so she could get in some practice.

"Oh okay." Alexis was proud of Kate for helping people who needed her help.

Rick drove Alexis to school where he met up with Paige, Jenny, and their parents. They were all waving bye as the school bus left with their little girls and everyone else from their class. "Ready to finish? I'm hoping we can finish today," he said. "All set, we'll follow you there." And two cars and one big truck showed up at his house.

It took almost no time to finish the second tower. They had the picnic table, deck, and bridge in place by lunch. "You guys hungry?" Vicki asked as she and Veronica carried out lunch for all of them. "I still want your kitchen Rick," Vicki remarked. "I know the architect who did my kitchen. He was out here last week to help the Beckett's across the street with their upstairs apartment. When he comes out here again I can send him over," Rick offered. "I'm only wishing Rick, we don't have the money to get a kitchen like yours," Vicki had to admit. "You'd be amazed at what Oscar can do for you with a really small budget. I'll bring him over next time." He wasn't taking no for an answer.

The swings, rock wall, and slides were next and were completed a little before dinner. Rick gave each couple an envelope and wouldn't let them open it before they left to go home.

He showered and drove Alexis and the dogs across the street for dinner. "Did you finish your project?" Johanna asked as she was loading up the table with today's selections."All done, you should see it," Rick replied. "It's HUGE!" Alexis spread her arms wide to emphasize her opinion on how big it was. "It's really that big?" Johanna went with it and watched Alexis nod, smiling widely. "Well, I'll just have to come over tomorrow and look at it," Johanna said.

"Have you heard anything from Oscar yet?" Rick asked her. "Just this morning actually. He wanted me to add wine to the list and sent me the steps required to get a liquor license. Names, phone numbers, who to talk to, and where to go. That man is amazing." Johanna was impressed. "He also reminded me to come up with a kid's menu. That may have to wait though. I'm having enough trouble with the main menu," she told him. "You'll figure it out." Rick was convinced she would come up with something.

"I've been thinking about the western costumes actually," Johanna commented between bites. "Have you reached any conclusions?" Rick was interested in hearing them. "I've only got 2 steaks and maybe 2 BBQ items at this point and that just doesn't sound western to me. I don't want a Texas steakhouse. So I was thinking of giving the employees black shirts that had the name of the place and maybe a logo on them. Have them supply their own black pants and black shoes. Just keep it simple and understated. I'm also still thinking about the paper cowboy hats and giving the kids a few crayons so they can draw what they want on them and take the hats home with them," Johanna replied.

"A logo sounds nice. Maybe something to do with the Yellowstone theme. A silver geyser perhaps. A pond filled with colors. Both would look good on a black shirt or polo," Rick suggested. "I was thinking fireworks exploding in the sky," Johanna said. "I like it. Three color bursts that overlap each other a little maybe," he proposed. "You could have a short fireworks display on a select day each week or each month maybe. Something short, perhaps 3 or 4 of those multiple shot boxes. Say $10 per box. It wouldn't last long but if you did it each week the cost would add up though. Maybe the same day each month unless it's raining or snowing too hard," he said thoughtfully.

Johanna was liking the sound of it more and more. She'd never heard of a restaurant shooting off fireworks. Maybe it would help spread the word. "I could show them on the billboards Oscar wants me to put up on the highway," Johanna speculated. "We need to take notes before we forget," Rick recommended which got Johanna to get up and come back with pen and paper. "We can send it to Oscar in an email before we go home," he offered just as the front door opened and in walked a dead-on-her-feet Kate.

The dogs were immediately all over her. "Hi Midas, Maggie," she said, petting them. "Katie, honey, how was your first day?" Johanna got up to get her a plate, silverware, and something to drink. "I've never seen so many dirt roads in my life." She collapsed into a dining room chair after she took off her belt and placed her weapon on the table next to her. It occurred to her that she was going to need to get into the habit of what to do with her gear when she got home. She didn't like placing her weapon on the table with Alexis here, but decided it was fine for now.

Johanna started dishing out what they were eating onto Kate's plate for her, since she looked dead on her feet. "Anything happen today?" Johanna asked. "You mean besides the flat I got and the driver's seat that's killing me? Then no, nothing happened," she responded. "Oh, by the way Rick. Thanks for the lunch and the coffee. Both came in handy. I have to get a tire tomorrow before I go anywhere." Kate had shredded it when it blew so she needed a tire desperately.

"I'll have both ready for you again in the morning, just stop by and pick them up," he told her. "Thanks." Kate started eating since she was starved. "WOW Mom, what is this?" She started eating faster. "Slow cooker venison roast with three cheese potatoes, and green beans, with grapes, onion, and bacon," Johanna answered her question. "Is this going on the menu?" she asked with her mouth full. "I haven't decided yet," Johanna replied. "She has, however, decided on a design to go on her shirts and out on the roadside billboards," Rick said. "A burst of colorful fireworks. She's even going to have a short fireworks display each week or maybe monthly," he informed her.

"Fireworks! That sounds nice. I've never heard of a restaurant shooting fireworks before. Isn't everyone going to be inside though and not see them?" Kate questioned, shooting a hole in their idea. "Maybe we can get Oscar to have some outdoor seating for summer," Rick suggested thinking those people would see them. "So the fireworks would only be during summer?" she asked. "It's still a good idea." He defended it. "No, I like it. But it just doesn't sound very practical in the fall or winter which can be bad here," Kate countered.

"Maybe Oscar can come up with something that has fireworks indoors. Using lights perhaps," Rick mused. "Are you still going with the Yellowstone look? Why not have your logo be something to do with that. Geysers or something. Set off fireworks each time the local college team wins a game? Baseball, Football, something," Kate said off the top of her head. Johanna started writing all of that down so she could talk to Oscar about it.

"Want to use the sauna and work out some of the kinks?" Rick offered. She shook her head. "I'm going to take a bath and just relax," Kate said wearily. "The tub has Jacuzzi jets," he offered again. "I'll be fine. It's worked before should work again," she turned him down once more.

She ate, went upstairs, and didn't come back down. "Was Kate like this when she was an officer?" Rick asked sounding concerned. "Kate had her own apartment by then so I can't really answer that. Maybe once she gets used to it she'll be better," Johanna said hopefully.

Still Rick was worried as he drove Alexis and the dog's home that night after thanking Johanna for the meal and making arrangements for them to be guinea pigs again. He went online looking for something and had it sent overnight by air.

 _ **Airhawk Airhawk R Seat Pad AHR**_

 _Center cutout area runs from front to back of cushion_

 _Re-designed cell geometry improves airflow under the rider: No Hot Seat_

 _Back cutaway allows for a tailbone relief area with a tapered transition for increased comfort_

 _All other properties of regular AirHawk cushions_

 _3-year manufacturers limited warranty_

"Is Kate okay Dad?" Even Alexis was concerned for her. "Kate's fine pumpkin, she's just tired from her new job. It requires her to sit a lot and drive a long way each day. Once she gets used to it, she'll feel better, you'll see. It's late and it's time for you to be in bed," Rick informed her and watched as she dragged herself upstairs to her room to get ready.

"I really hope Kate adjusts to her job," he said to himself.


	18. Chapter 18

**CH18**

The week went fast as did the next two weeks. Kate stopped at Rick's to pick up her coffee and her lunch each work day. The only time Rick saw her or she, him, was in the morning and when she got home, finding Rick, Alexis, and the dogs waiting for her much like tonight. "Hi Rick." Kate walked up to him and kissed him like her voice had been asking her the second she pulled up outside. "Thank you for the seat cushion. My butt thanks you, too." She smiled at him. "I'm just glad it helped or I would have to find something else," Rick chuckled.

"So what are we having tonight Mom and is it on the menu?" Kate asked, taking off her belt, dropping it and her weapon into a cabinet drawer that Johanna had cleaned out near the front door for her. "Tonight is venison stew using crescent rolls to cover the top, and yes, it's still on the menu. Oscar sent me a message yesterday asking me to remove 4 of the appetizers and asking me to remove at least another 4 entrees. He wants me to concentrate on the entrees that I feel good about cooking. What I'm best at. This is just a variation of what I cooked…" Johanna stopped and just sat there for a moment. "What I cooked for you and your dad when you were little, only then I used beef and mashed potatoes." Kate reached next to her to take her mother's hand. It was the first time that she could remember that her mother had mentioned her dad since they moved here.

"He would be proud of you Johanna," Rick said. "Opening up a business, moving on with your life, living, and loving." He hadn't even seen a picture of Jim, but he knew love when he saw it and heard it.

"Have you finished your handout for your side business?" he asked her. "I have actually." She got up and disappeared for a moment and returned with a small handout and gave it to Rick. It was a mix of delicate creative lettering using metallic gold. The rest was mostly simple block lettering that varied in colors, three of them actually. It flowed diagonally with a strong color and faded as it went across the page only to be another color that was strong before fading. At the bottom was the address and phone number of their home in simple black block letters. "That's a lot of color," he commented and handed it to Kate. "That's kind of the point. I want them to remember seeing it, plus the colors match the colors I'm using for the restaurant logo," Johanna explained.

"What did Oscar say about you using fireworks?" Kate questioned. For a logo sure, but shooting them off? "He was actually silent for a time. He agreed to all black and that the colors would stand out on the shirts. He suggested they all be button down and as soon as I come up with a name, he'll create something and send it to me for approval before having a number of them made in various sizes for men and women."

"As for shooting off the fireworks, he suggested we only do it when the local college team wins a game. Football for certain, we're still talking about adding baseball, basketball or other sports. Oscar is even in contact with the University to try and get t-shirts, polo shirts, and jackets of the University to be sold here. He's even looking into what it would take to add my logo to them, making them collector's items that can only be purchased at my restaurant," Johanna told them.

"Sounds like you two are doing a lot of talking Mom," Kate remarked. "Almost daily actually. That man is full of ideas and amazingly good at his job." Johanna sounded happy to Kate and it made her think. "And when is he coming back out here?" Kate was going to put him upstairs when he came and she was going to sleep over at Rick' shrugged her shoulders. "I don't…" Johanna stopped with the phone rang getting her up from the table to answer it. "Oscar!" Kate started smiling at the tone of her voice. Yeah, if or when he should up she was sleeping over at Rick's.

"Yes I have, the appetizers are down to just 4 and I've removed 4 of the entrees so far." Johanna listened for a moment. "No, I haven't started the salad list yet, that's next on my list to do," she responded and listened for a minute. "No, I haven't started on the kids' menu yet either, that's on my list to do after the salads," Johanna told him, and went back to listening. "YOU ARE! That's great!" Johanna said, listening. "Actually Rick and Alexis are over here eating from my menu. Katie is home from work and has joined us," she said and listened again. "Okay." She walked over to Rick and handed him the phone. "He wants to talk with you." Rick took the phone and went to another part of the house.

"What did he say Mom?" Kate was curious, especially the really happy sounding part."He said he had finished the renderings for the exterior and interior of the restaurant. He has examples of what the menu should look like. He also has a drawing of the floor plan and kitchen equipment based off of the original menu items I sent him. He also has all of the costs worked out to purchase, build it and outfit it with equipment, tables, chairs, pictures and other stuff. He wants to come out and show it to all of us." Johanna beamed, so every excited.

"That's great and really fast. Did he say when?" Kate needed to know when she needed to pack a bag. "He said he would fly out tomorrow if he could get a seat," Johanna answered, telling Kate she needed to pack tonight and drop her bag off at Rick's in the morning, after she talked to him.

Rick came back. "Oscar is flying out tomorrow and should be here around a little after lunch. Well, in Rapid City a little after lunch," he clarified and handed the phone back to Johanna.

"Rick can I talk to you?" And she took his hand and dragged him outside. Kate immediately found herself in his arms as he hugged her. She simply melted and didn't care what the stupid voice might say and just soaked him up. "When are you off next?" he asked after he let go of her. She missed his arms instantly. "I work the next two days and have the following three off. Four straight 12 hour days followed by 3 days off," she explained.

"Perfect! What would you say to a camping trip? Drive somewhere or even nowhere, set up camp, bring firewood with us. Cook marshmallows over an open fire, eat s'mores," he said hopefully. "You, me, Alexis, and the dogs?" She thought about it for a moment and saw the look on his face and kept her mouth closed a little longer just to tease him. "I'm driving," she announced watching Rick smile and then fade which had her heart sinking into her stomach. "My truck, my trailer, so I'm driving. And it's only going to be the two of us. I was going to ask your mother if she would child and dog sit," he told her and started praying.

Kate's breath hitched. Three days and two nights all alone with Rick out in the middle of nowhere? _'Please say yes! I'll not say a word for those three whole days. Just say yes!'_ the voice in the back of her head pleaded her. Three days of the voice not begging her to kiss Rick; three days of solitude within her own mind? "Deal, but we're taking our motorhome. I want access to my scooter in case I want to get away from you," she teased.

The bear in him was flying, headed for orbit. "GREAT! …Wait, what do you mean get away from me? I'm nice, when have I done anything that made you angry?" Rick was hurt. Then he remembered when Johanna was angry with him and Kate by association."On second thought don't answer that. Pack for three days; I'll bring the food and pay for the diesel," he offered. "I can buy my own fuel Rick, it's my motorhome." She was loving the looks that came over his face. He really wore his emotions on his face.

Maybe a game of poker while they camped, she could clean up. ' _Good idea! Strip poker_ _,_ _'_ the voice told her. The thought of a naked Rick above her, inside her, started dancing in her head.

"We can argue over who buys the diesel after we convince your mother to child and dog sit," he said and started to walk back inside. His bear was in orbit at the moment.

"WAIT RICK! …I need to ask you for something." Kate got him out here to ask him if she could stay at his place while Oscar stayed here. His offer made her wonder if this was such a good idea. Rick stood there waiting. He was worried that she had changed her mind. It was written all over his face and was breaking her heart. "I wanted to ask you if I could stay at your place while Oscar's here to see Mom," she asked and saw him immediately relax and then start smiling. Next she found herself wrapped up in his arms again. Kate didn't feel any fear about spending time with him anymore. How did he do it with a simple hug? Even if his hugs were out of this world.

"Where is Oscar going to stay?" Rick asked while still holding onto Kate tightly. "Upstairs in my spare bedroom," she responded knowing what she was asking of answer caused him to pull away but not let go of her. "Katherine Beckett! Are you playing matchmaker for your mother and Oscar?" he questioned. "I was, I mean no. This is a bad…" Kate was forced to stop talking when he kissed her while hugging her. She couldn't help but kiss him back. She moaned into the kiss while something inside her started blooming. She had felt something for a while. In addition to the stupid voice, there was something. Like a seed that was trying to grow and all she had to do was let it. Kate placed his head in her hands and kissed him back as hard as she could. Screw Freddie, she wanted Rick. He broke from the kiss but she leaned forward with her eyes still closed searching for his lips again.

"Kate Beckett the matchmaker. I approve by the way. Oscar has been alone for far too long. He really is a good man who works way too hard by the way," Rick told her. It took her a moment to get her thoughts together. "This is probably a bad idea. It's too soon for Mom and Oscar lives in New York, someplace I know she has no intention of living in again." Kate was starting to rethink this plan.

She suddenly found herself wrapped up in Rick's arms again. Kate buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. Somehow wrapped up in his arms she knew her wild and crazy scheme to give her mother something that she couldn't actually had a chance. "Forgive me Dad, please forgive me." She moved closer to Rick and let herself cry for a bit. He could feel her tears and simply rubbed her back. He let her get it all out even if he wasn't sure what it was about.

Rick hadn't felt any more tears for a little while now. "Better?" he inquired softly. She actually backed up out of his arms, which was a first for him. Kate Beckett must really be something. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry on your shirt. I was just…I mean, what I was doing could…perhaps we should go back inside," she suggested and walked to the door as Rick followed. He had never encountered anyone who could do what she was doing.

Kate stopped Rick at the door. "When will Oscar be here?" She still needed to make sure when to pack a bag. "Tomorrow, he's actually flying out tonight," Rick said. "He found a ticket that fast? It must have cost him a fortune," she commented, knowing what airlines charged for last minute seats. "It would have if he was flying commercial." He just smiled and slipped past Kate. He went into the house to collect his daughter and Midas and Maggie so they could go home. Kate simply stared at him. "He didn't?" She stared at his back.

XXXXXxxxxxxxxXXXXXXxxXxxXXXXxxxxXXXXxX

 **2 weeks ago:**

Kate had one more day off work and was downstairs spending time with her mother going over some of her mother's plans for her restaurant and discussing how they were going to afford this adventure. "We still have just over 1 million dollars Mom. Between my pay and your profits we should be fine if we spend it," Kate argued. "And I don't want to be spending that money Katie. A lot, if not all of it, is yours. Do NOT argue with me. We have enough money, the house is paid for as are the cars. There's more than enough to secure a loan. Oscar has even given me the name of a person to work with to do just that." Johanna shut her down. "Oscar again. You seem to like him a lot." Kate started smiling. "He's been very helpful, we wouldn't have this restaurant without him," Johanna admitted. "And what is that look for?" Johanna saw something in Kate's face."Nothing Mom, absolutely nothing." Except Johanna didn't see the look leave her face and was all set to find out what it was when the doorbell rang. "Go answer the door, it's probably your boyfriend." Johanna decided to tease Kate since Kate was being hard on her. "Rick isn't my boyfriend." Kate countered and went to answer the door. "He is Katie, you just don't see it yet. He just might be perfect for her Jim," Johanna said to herself.

"Hello?" Kate answered the door and found a lovely, well dressed women. She would have looked perfect had she been in New York City, but this was Wyoming. The high heels she was wearing would make it difficult to walk around here. "I'm looking for Johanna and Katherine Beckett. My name is Linda Evans. Oscar Lehman told me you desperately needed an interior designer," she said, introducing herself.

"LINDA! We've been expecting you. You should have called and we would have come and gotten you. You didn't need to drive all the way out here." Kate wasn't concerned for her, the road itself was safe. It just wasn't necessary. "Nonsense, I learned a lot on the drive out here." Linda got to see Wyoming on the way out here. "Please come in and meet my mother." Kate stepped aside and gestured for Linda to enter. "Mom, this is Linda Evans, the interior designer. She's here to see what our house needs," Kate called out.

In only minutes Linda was upstairs and looking around. "Do you like this furniture?" Linda asked. "It, along with everything else, came with the house," Kate explained and watched her walk into the kitchen only to turn around and walk back out. "Please tell me Oscar is doing something with…that," Linda asked. "It's not really that bad; it does still function, and yes, he is," Kate answered. "Good," Linda replied and pulled a pad, pen, and a tape measure out of her bag. She measured everything before stepping outside onto the deck that was almost as long as the house itself.

"You're thinking of something, I can see it," Kate remarked. Linda simply smiled and walked back inside. "Do you have a basement?" Linda asked and watched them shake their heads. "Crawl space?" Linda asked and watched them shake their heads again."Good. That means slab on grade. We lose the wall between here and the kitchen. We will need an engineered beam across the opening with reinforced studs all the way down to the slab most likely. Meaning we would have to open up the downstairs' walls temporarily.

We'll do the same for this outside wall, from here…to here." Linda walks not noticing the looks on Kate and Johanna's faces. "We will likely need another engineered beam with reinforced studs on either side all the way down to slab. We'll replace this wall with full length bi-folding double paned glass doors that lead out onto your blacony. It will allow you to see the view that you have and bring the outside in during summer.

We would need to place film on the glass to help to prevent the sun from fading your furniture and drapes. The double-paned glass panels have argon gas in-between that will help prevent heat loss in winter.

Rip up this carpet and lay down a nice hardwood floor, perhaps bamboo because it's a sustainable wood, with an area rug. The furniture isn't that bad and we can re-use some of it to save costs. Replace some of these pictures with real art, add a couple of sculptures, change the paint color and this room will be beautiful. When Oscar is done with your kitchen it will transform this place. Now show me your master bedroom," Linda asked Kate and followed her to the bedroom. "Please pardon the mess. I work long days and have today and tomorrow off which is when I do laundry." Kate grabbed a few items and hid them behind her back.

"The furniture isn't bad. Do you like carpet in the bedroom?" Linda inquired. "I'm thinking it would be better than a cold floor," Kate responded, not that she had experienced a hard winter here yet. "Then it stays, we just need to clean it. Do you use the sitting area much? It's a nice size," she said, asking another question. Kate shook her head. "I mostly just use this room to sleep. If I want to relax and watch TV I use the living room," Kate replied. "Then maybe all we'll do here is change colors, make it softer, a little less masculine looking," Linda suggested. "Actually that's what I don't like in the living room." Kate told her. "Well, we're going to fix that. Let me make a few sketches and create a floor plan, make a few calls then I can get you a rough estimate of the cost," she offered. "I'll get started when I get to my motel room," Linda assured her.

"You don't have to do that. We have two spare bedrooms, one up and one down, plus you'll get free meals. Mom's testing out some of her menu items for her new restaurant. I can guarantee some amazing dinners," Kate said, seeing no need for her to go anywhere. Plus it would take some of the pressure off of Kate to eat it all. "That's so kind of you. Let me cancel my reservation and get my bag from the car," Linda answered, grateful for the room and the meals.

Linda was in the spare bedroom downstairs when she got a call. "Oscar, what a surprise. I can see why you sent me. This house is nice but can use some help and that kitchen." She tried not to picture it. She listened a little while. "The most expensive thing will be the beams and the wall of glass leading out to the balcony. Everything else is simple enough," she explained and listened some more.

"She's one lucky lady! I wish I had a boyfriend that generous," Linda commented and listened some more. "Seriously? What's wrong with her? Does she not like him? Not handsome enough?" Linda questioned and continued listening. "Got it; I won't include any of those items in my estimate. If they're smart they're likely to notice though, these three items don't come cheap," she remarked and listened to Oscar speak. "My lips are sealed and yes, I'll get to sample one of these meals you talked about. I'm looking forward to seeing if it stands up to your ravings," she chuckled and ended the call.

"What have you gotten yourself into old friend?" Linda was no fool.


	19. Chapter 19

**CH19**

She had shown them sketches what the living room could look like, parts of it were even in color. "What do you think?" Linda asked, showing them to Kate and Johanna on the dining room table the very next day which was Kate's last day off work. "It's amazing, really." Kate was staring at the sketches open-mouthed much like Johanna. "I take it you approve so I'll get started on pricing and work out a schedule to get this done. I left out what Oscar is going to do to your kitchen. He's more of an expert on kitchens than I am," Linda told them.

"You can say that again," Johanna whispered to herself.

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"You're sure you're willing to do this Mom?" Kate asked yet again, not sure if she wanted her mother to say yes or for her to say no. "Of course I'm sure. You and Rick go enjoy yourselves. Alexis and I are going to have nothing but fun. Plus I'm dying to find out what this house has to offer."

"You be a good girl for Johanna, pumpkin. Make sure you feed Midas and Maggie and take them outside. She's going to take very good care of you." Rick hugged her and eased some of her fears. "Is Kate going to take care of you?" Alexis didn't want him hurt. "Absolutely, we're going to have so much fun." Rick kissed her head and released her to stand up.

"You know where you're going?" Johanna asked him. "Not a clue, Kate's being stubborn. I have no idea what she's planning. I simply packed enough food and clothes for 3 days or I'll have to kiss my butt goodbye," Rick told her. "Which reminds me - I have to get going. Something about a penalty if I'm late," he explained as he grabbed the bags of food and headed for his truck to drive across the highway so he didn't get his butt kicked. Which is what Kate said she would do to him if he was late.

He knocked on the door of the motorhome and saw Kate open the door. "One minute to spare Rick." She smiled and went to the driver's seat then started the engine. After checking her gauges she put it in drive and started down the driveway while Rick put away their 3 days of food and dropped his carry-on bag on the floor to go sit in the passenger seat. "So where are we going?" he asked, since going on this trip was his idea. "Not telling Rick though I'm willing to entertain your guesses." She smiled and spared a moment to look at him.

"We're going north so it's not Mount Rushmore. Yellowstone is too far away so it's not that. The largest city in Wyoming anywhere near here is to the South." He tried to picture the map of the state in his head and got nothing. "Giving up so easy Rick?" she teased feeling good about herself. "We're traveling North on US16 which is why you turned right and went into Newcastle. The next main road, if you can call it that, would be county route 116 which doesn't really get us anywhere I can think of. Next is Interstate 90 which can take us to many places but we only have 3 days, so our destination needs to be close." He tried to think of something close and came up empty again.

Kate just sat there smiling while driving. "Turn left of US16," her GPS unit told her getting Rick to smile, pleased that he was at least right about that. He was silent as was Kate who kept her eyes on the road until, "Turn right on ramp and take entrance to I-90," her GPS unit intoned which got Rick to smile again. Except they didn't stay on I-90 for long. "Take exit 160 on right and then turn left," the voice said. "Turn left on Clauge Road," was the next instruction. It wasn't until he saw a sign that he knew where they were going. "You knew didn't you? Somehow you knew. Who told you? I don't remember telling anyone." He was smiling widely as she just drove.

She paid the fee for a campsite and drove to the beach area. There were only 7 sites, all with no pads and uneven ground. None of them had connections. Water and restrooms were close. Each site had a fire pit and a picnic table. Kate chose one that put them in the middle of a number of pine trees. She parked and leveled the mortorhome, pushed the button to extend both pull outs, and set up the block out curtains around the driver's area. "Shall we explore?" she asked and didn't wait for Rick. "You coming Rick?" Kate turned her head to look back inside and stepped outside secure in the knowledge that he was following.

They were down by the marina in no time and walked the lake shore. He suddenly turned his head to look at her. "I talked to Paige about this place after she told me about it. You got Alexis to tell you about it, didn't you? You used my own daughter against me." He finally figured it out. "Against you or for you?" Kate questioned as she kept walking.

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While he was cooking over the open fire pit, Kate was inside the motorhome working on a salad. The three cheese potatoes and green bean casserole that her mother had given to Rick to bring were in the oven heating up. They were soon eating outside on the picnic table after draping a table cloth over the filthy thing. "I think we can rent a boat tomorrow if you want," she suggested. "I didn't bring any Dramamine," he countered doing his best to keep a straight face. "RICK! It's a lake not the open ocean," she said sharply until she saw the beginnings of a smile, so she punched him in the arm. "I'm going to get you for that."

"You, Deputy, can get me anytime you want," he replied grinning. "Who says I want you Rick?" Kate said trying to look serious. "You wound me Deputy. Drag me all the way out here and insult me!" He tried to look hurt. "I don't want to hurt you Rick, far from it in fact." She couldn't help but look at him and wish, which was ironic in a way. Her stupid internal voice had been trying to get her to kiss him and here she was thinking of going a whole lot further than just a simple kiss. Kate suddenly found herself wrapped up in his arms again and this time it only made her want him that much more. She was getting used to his hugs and what they did to her.

It was now or never. "Rick?" She gathered her will power, looked up at him, and got her wish. He started kissing her and she tried to put her want into the kiss. He broke from the kiss and tried to hug her but she reached up and kissed him again. This time Kate broke from the kiss and buried herself in Rick who was only too happy to hold her tight. Except he could feel a change, something was different. He got his first clue when Kate exited his arms, which he wasn't used to have happen. The butterflies in her stomach were on a never ending rollercoaster.

Kate prayed this was a good idea. She stood up and took Rick's hand, dragging him behind her into the motorhome. She closed the door and lifted up on tippy toes to kiss him again while screwing up the last of her courage. She broke from the kiss and started working on the buttons of his shirt. She ran her hands up under his shirt finally getting to run her hands over his bare chest. Working on his shirt, she only had one more button to go. At last his chest was bare; she feathered kisses all over it. It was then that he took her hands and stopped her. Kate wasn't sure what to think but it felt like refusal, that he didn't want her. "Rick, I need you." She made her intentions plain.

"Kate?" Rick looked unsure. From her point of view it looked like rejection on his face. She was so bewildered. He'd kissed her a lot, given her hugs that were anything but simple hugs. Unless she was mistaken, he had flirted with her just a little. She was also pretty sure he cared. Becoming upset she said, "You don't want me? You don't find me attractive? I don't understand Rick. You hugged me, you kissed me. I want you to make love to me. It's why I invited you out here." The voice in her head wasn't even on her mind now.

"Kate please listen to me. You are the most amazing and beautiful woman I've ever encountered and yes, I want you. So very much." Rick took hold of her hand and guided it down his body until she felt the bulge of his erection trapped in his pants.

She wasn't a virgin, not that she was all that experienced. But she considered herself experienced enough. Besides Will Sorenson there had been a couple of boyfriends along with a couple of what turned out to be one night stands. One of which was her own doing.

Kate couldn't help but rub the erection that he had guided her hand to. _'My god he's big_ _,_ _' she thought._ She started working her hand to try and figure out just how big. She was sure he was going to spread her wide and reach areas inside her no man ever had before. It only made her wetter.

She was very confused when Rick moved her hand away. "I do want you Kate, maybe more than you'll ever know. But there's something you need to understand first." He had to explain something. It was far too important not to tell her. "Oh god, you have an STD!" She came up with a reason for his behavior. Her timing was just bad. She needed to get him to a doctor and get him cleaned up then she was going to have her way with him.

"No, I'm clean. Always have been and likely always will be." He blew away that thought. "Then what Rick? I've planned this day because I want you, so what's wrong?" Based on what she had to go through at the police academy she knew she was pretty enough and that her long legs were an asset, even if her chest was a little on the small side. But her breasts did have a good shape to them.

"You better sit down." He took her hands and guided her to the sofa/loveseat. He sat next to her and held her hands in his. "This is going to be hard to understand so try and keep an open mind, _please_. Yes, I want to make love to you; I have for weeks. And I also know that I'm falling in love with you." Rick smiled which had her heart pounding in her chest. _'He loved her!'_

"I think Alexis is already in love with you. She's forever after me asking if we're going to go over to see Kate," he said, which made her smile. She was pretty sure she was falling in love with both of them, too. And his already having a child didn't scare her.

"You need to understand something that will happen when we make love for the first time." Rick paused trying to think how best to explain this. "Do you believe that when you find someone and give them your heart that you are binding yourself to them? That you are committed to the other for the rest of your life?" he began.

Kate's eyes open wide and her heart fluttered. She was willing to make love to him. Was he talking about…? "Rick, are you proposing?" It was way too early for that. She was falling for him yes, but marriage? "In a way this is even more than that, much more. Marriage is a piece of paper that makes the lawyers and society happy. A public celebration of what those two people already feel. Oh, god, how to explain this." Rick sighed and looked up at the ceiling like an answer would be sent to him.

"Very few people know what I'm about to tell you. Ever heard of werewolves? They're in the movies as vicious killing beasts that lose themselves when they turn into wolves during a full moon." He was trying to get to what he wanted to say, just hoping Kate stayed with him long enough to get there.

' _Great! Rick is_ _delusional_ _. Just my luck_ _._ _I_ _had to_ _fall in love with a mental_ _case,_ _"_ _she thought._ "Every fantasy or fairy tale has the tiniest amount of truth hidden in them. There has been a sub-race of humans for longer than I or likely anyone else has ever known. We refer to ourselves as shifters. Our natural form is human however we can take the shape of an animal with a few differences whenever we choose. There is an almost limitless number of shifters. Lions, tigers, bears, many different kinds. Bengal tigers, mountain lions, polar bears, Kodiak bears. As well as other animals like wolves. Trust me Kate, I know what this sounds like. You're probably already thinking that I'm some kind of screwball who thinks he's a werewolf who turns into a monster at every full moon," he said quietly. Actually she had only just started thinking that. Rick was a mental case, that was for sure.

"There is also something for all shifters or more accurately someone. For every shifter there is someone who is perfect for them. If you will, a preordained mate. Life mates that are matched perfectly for each other. Each shifter knows his or her mate when they meet them and kiss for the first time. When they have make love for the first time, they are physically and mentally bound to each other for life. When one dies, the other will soon follow, dying from a broken heart. There are a number of things that also take place after they are bound. Yes, I'm falling in love with you if I haven't already, but if I make love to you without your understanding the consequences, I would be binding you to me and me to you without your consent. And I love you far too much to even think that." Rick did what he hoped was his best to explain.

She was silent for a time. "So you think you're a wolf and that if you make love to me I'll be your life mate?" Kate tried to understand his wild story. "Well, a bear actually, a Kodiak bear to be precise," he corrected her. "A bear? Seriously Rick!? You've concocted this fantasy story to accomplish what? If you didn't want to make love to me, why not just tell me? Wait, you're actually a mental patient that managed to talk his way out of your permanent hospital, aren't you? Did you steal Alexis from someone?" She stood up and started pacing. "You're serious aren't you? You really think that you're a bear, that you can turn into a bear. GOD poor Alexis. Even in Wyoming there has to be Social Services for children. And I came out here all alone and didn't even bring my weapon." Kate moaned at what she had gotten herself into. She'd thought Rick might be the one. How could she have screwed this up so badly!?

"I can prove my words Kate. So easily," he offered. "How, by turning yourself into a bear?" she countered. "Even trying to turn yourself into a bear will only prove your fantasy Rick. We're leaving to go home. And don't even think that you can stop me. I'm well trained in hand to hand combat and can take you easily," she warned him and started thinking about where her keys were.

"I can prove it if you'll just stop and let me." He took what might be his last shot at getting her to listen to the truth. "By turning yourself into a bear. …Fine. Turn yourself into a bear." Kate stood there, crossed her arms across her chest, and glared at him. "We need to go outside and find someplace private," he told her. "Outside where you think you can take me and leave my dead body behind? Yeah, I don't think so. Not that you would succeed." Kate was sure in her ability.

"I would never hurt you! I love you far too much to even think that," Rick said heatedly only to see Kate steel her expression. "We have to go outside and find someplace private because I can't let my secret get out by someone seeing me. And as a bear I'm far too big for your motorhome. My weight alone will cause the floor to collapse," he informed her. "Outside?" She was actually thinking of letting him. "I know you don't believe me or trust me anymore. Please let me prove it to you. It'll break my heart if I lose you. It will just take a few more minutes of your time. Give me a chance Kate. You brought me out here for a reason. Let me prove that you weren't wrong, _please_!" he begged her.

"You can change without a full moon? And we're going to be out in the middle of nowhere for how long waiting for you to change into a bear?" Kate queried thinking that she was actually going to do it. She had lost her mind, she was sure of it. Rick actually chuckled. "I don't need a full moon and neither do the wolf shifters. It only takes seconds to change," he explained. She sighed and thought it over. "Fine, you go first and stay out in front of me. You do anything stupid Rick and I'll break both your legs then call the sheriff and have him come out and pick up your broken body," Kate warned him.

He sagged in relief. She was giving him a chance. His changing was likely to scare her but it was his last and likely only chance. Rick opened the door, walked a few feet away and waited for Kate to follow. She closed and locked the door and motioned for Rick to start walking. He looked behind him from time to time to gaze at Kate whose face had a neutral appearance. It was dark out but there was just enough light to see where they were going. She walked behind him, ready for anything.

Rick figured they were far enough away but close enough to the lake that the moon shining off of it would give her a good look at him. He began taking off his clothes starting with his shoes. "What are you doing?" Kate demanded, thinking that he was planning on having sex out here. She watched as he finally slid off his boxers and just stood there giving her time for a really good look at him. She had to admit that he would interest a lot of women. Kate, however, held her emotions in check and simply stared at him. "I have no intention of hurting you, Kate, far from it actually. I would risk my life to protect you. …This will only take a second or two," Rick informed her and took a deep breath. He didn't need it to change, but his entire future with Kate was on the line.

Rick changed forms into a truly large Kodiak bear, the size of which she had never even heard of. Kate stood there slack-jawed at what she had just witnessed. She had been expecting him to take time to change if he could do it at all. Bones cracking, skin stretching, hearing him scream from the pain. Instead a naked Rick was now a bear with brown fur, a snout with a black nose, paws that were larger than a dinner plate. Hell, he was bigger than her Jeep. Maybe even a little bigger than her stupid Durango. HE WAS HUGE!

Kate watched the bear take a step towards her and she immediately took two steps back. As she watched, the bear lowered his head like she had just slapped him. This was followed by him taking a step back placing them even farther apart than before. "Rick?" she asked hesitantly, still not sure this had happened. Kate watched the bear lift and lower his head. She took that as a yes. "Can you talk?" She asked her next question. She watched the bear shake its head from side to side. This was followed by the bear giving off a soft roar followed by a snort out its nose. She took that as a no. "Does changing hurt?" Kate asked getting more personal. The bear shook its head again. Though from Rick's point of view, the fact that she hadn't gotten any closer did hurt.

"You're really a bear. Where you born this way or is it a disease?" she inquired only for it to dawn on her what she had said. "Sorry, that was two questions. Were you born this way?" She repeated her first question and watched the bear nod. "So you can be either whenever you choose?" Kate asked another question as the bear nodded. "How do I know it's you Rick if you can't talk?" As stupid as it sounded even to her, he could be someone else. Which brought up another question. "Is it really you under all that hair and teeth, or are you more bear?" She groaned when it dawned on her she had asked two questions again. She was all set to amend her questions when she watched the bear actually sit down on its ass with its lower legs sticking out. Kate watched as the bear lifted up its arms and held them out. It looked for all the world like an invitation for a hug. A real honest-to-god bear hug. It occurred to her that if the bear wanted to kill her it could with just one swipe of its paw. She also had no illusion that it could run her down if she ran.

Kate didn't know what to think. She had lured Rick out here to make love to him. Now he was sitting there as a huge bear asking her to step into his arms. "You crush me or break my back and I'll kill you." Kate decided on a useless threat. She squeezed her eyes closed, took a few steps, and found herself wrapped up in a giant pair of arms with huge paws. She was surrounded by fur and it felt so damn good.

Her fears left her as she let Rick hug her. Kate buried her face in his fur, grabbing handsful of it and held onto him. GODS ABOVE! Was this how he could give such damn good bear hugs? "Rick?" she asked, talking into his fur. Her only response was to feel a large black nose sniff her hair. She gripped him a little harder, squeezed her eyes closed and let him envelope her as she started crying.

The man she loved was a huge bear.


	20. Chapter 20

**CH20**

Sophia was excited and worried. They had finally lucked out and had a lead on his location. The Holy Grail of shifters. She had sent Hal Lockwood, Cole Maddox, and 8 of her more experienced members along with 2 of her rookies to set up a stake out and watch him as much as possible.

He was known as Fenrir Greyback to everyone involved with the Paladin network. He was known to wear the robes of the Death Eaters and was believed to be the single most powerful werewolf ever known. It was believed that he had magical powers.

Sophia was being very careful with this shifter. If her teams actually managed to kill him, it would be the single most successful killing in the history of the Paladins - hell, even from before the Paladins were ever formed.

The name he was using now was William H. Bracken. The son of a bitch was in politics. It was how the arrogant bastard had been identified. It had taken them a few days to find his location at first. Now they had teams following him and watching his office and his home. She had sent another 8 men who had yet to arrive.

Sophia was at their restaurant helping her husband when her burner phone vibrated. She stepped out the back door and blocked it to hold it open. "Yes?"

"We have him in his own car headed from his office to home most likely. It's when he's most vulnerable. Save for one man at his office and one sitting on the switch watching over his home, the rest of us are in trucks, two of which are Peterbilt cabs with no trailer," Cole Maddox told her. "Is Lockwood in a god position?" was Sophia's only question. "He has yet to check in but should be in position in as high up as possible…30 seconds tops," Cole replied. That information told Sophia that they had already scoped out their ambush site that gave them the best advantage. "You are cleared to go ONLY if Lockwood confirms his position. Otherwise you will stand down and continue to watch for the next opportunity," Sophia ordered. "Understood." And the line went dead. She went back into the restaurant to work, though her mind was on the mission she had just cleared.

Sophia was lifting up a plate to place it on the out counter when she came up short and hit the edge instead and dropped it. She lost the plate and the two already complete meals that went with it to the same table. "I'm sorry." She bowed her head. Her mind wasn't on her job here, it was on her job out there. "You've been distracted for the last 20 to 30 minutes," her husband mildly chastised her. "Go take a break; when your head is clear come back," Guy told her and had one of the people in the kitchen clean up the mess and get started on the replacement meals. "Yeah, I'm really sorry." Sophia took her white jacket off and went out the back door, forgetting to block it open so she could get back in. "DAMN IT!" Now she was going to have to go all the way around and enter through the main entrance.

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Maddox was in the car behind their target. They had been switching chase cars so as not to give themselves away. The rookie next to him took his signal from Maddox. He ordered the Peterbilts in and sat and watched. Secure in the knowledge that Lockwood was up high using his sniper rifle in his GOD position.

Maddox was 4 cars back as they all sat at a red light. The light turned green and Maddox and his rookie jumped out of their car and began running forward just as the target car started through the intersection.

It was almost perfectly timed as both Pererbilts came from each side and t-boned his Mercedes. They were just a little off from each other so they didn't hit the passenger compartment on opposite sides. Instead one hit the rear door on the passenger side while the other truck hit his left front corner panel. The result was the car was spun and trapped between the two trucks. Lockwood meanwhile was watching everything when he saw a blur that could only mean one thing. Lockwood keyed his mic. "He's…" The next sound everyone heard was Lockwood gurgling blood as his neck was ripped open from a savage bite.

Maddox and his rookie reached the car and opened up on it along with the passengers of the Peterbilts. These four were just starting to eject their spent clips and slap in new ones when the drivers of the Peterbilts started emptying their clips into the car. Maddox thought he heard something over his headset, however the sound of all the firing, including his own as he and his rookie opened up on the car to empty their second clip into it, drove the thought from his mind. Unbeknownst to Maddox that sound was the two men in one of the cars on the side gurgling blood as their necks were ripped open.

They had two cars teamed with the Peterbilts that were following the target car and were now one block away on each side making their way to the site.

Just as Maddox emptied his second clip and the sound of gunfire ceased, he and the others heard the two men in the other car that was on the far side making frantic sounds as they bled out. "Yellow hair 2, report." Maddox gave them a moment. "Yellow hair 1, report." He called the other team. "SHIT! Everyone scatter, NOW!" Maddox yelled into his mic. But it was already too late. A massive explosion took place centered on the Mercedes. It blew the Mercedes into at least a thousand small pieces. The largest pieces of the Peterbiilt's that survived the blast were the axels and the tires. One tire was never found since it was on a roof two blocks away.

There wasn't enough left of the men in the Peterbilts for anyone to determine if there ever had been anyone in them. The only two bodies that were found were Maddox and his rookie. Lockwood's body was found 2 weeks later after someone complained of the smell. The blast also blew out windows in buildings for two blocks around. The fires of the surrounding buildings were quickly put out because the massive hole in the street had broken a water main that sprayed water everywhere, preventing even more damage.

"Lanie, what have we got?" Espo and Ryan walked up to Lanie who was just finishing looking over the second body. It had taken at lot for Espo and Ryan to get this far. The area for 6 blocks around the blast had been closed off in fear of another explosion, and only now were the ambulances being allowed in. "I have no IDs on them. Getting prints off of them is going to be impossible," Lanie commented as they all look at the crispy blackened forms that used to be men. "I might get lucky with dental records. I also might find enough DNA left in their abdominal area to ID them," she remarked. "Give me some time in the lab and I'll tell you what I find."

"Looks like both of them were armed." Ryan had noticed the heavy assault rifles. "They were clearly shooting at something or someone." Lanie pointed out all of the yellow numbers being placed at the large number of casings that were all over. "We're going to need the experts from the bomb squad. This is too big for a simple car explosion. I didn't even see anything this big in the gulf," Espo mentioned. "I'll gather all the security camera coverage that I can find," Ryan said and walked off. Maybe there were some cameras in the surrounding buildings. Espo and Ryan had a really huge and complicated mess on their hands.

What they didn't see was a very well dressed man step back and disappear in a tight swirl of black that then blew apart and scattered. He reappeared on a rooftop not far from his building and ripped the neck open of the man that was watching his home. "Fools," was his only comment before he disappeared again.

Bracken was in his secret sub-basement below the basement of his house. He didn't see that the last man he killed fell and caused a series of unbelievable actions. The first action caused a cascade until 6 actions later the toggle was pushed on the device the dead man was sitting in front of. This last action sent a signal to 6 drones sitting on roofs in the area. It lit the rocket boosters of the planes they were attached to until they burned out and were discarded. The planes, each packed with something only Paladin could get their hands on which was more explosive than simple Semtex, were already programmed and flew without error to their sites. The front door of the house. The windows on either side had a plane crash through them. Each bedroom on the upper floor had a plane crash through it while the final plane crashed into the natural gas meter.

The resulting explosion blew the house to matchsticks and caught the buildings next to it and the one across the street on fire. The buildings next door ultimately collapsed sideways onto his house. It was almost 10 years later that the new owner of the house cleared the area for construction and found the basement and the basement below it. The man that found it died instantly and never saw the man who did it; he was carrying his mate who was in a cryo tank and they disappeared in a dark swirl of black that blew apart and scattered.

His political career may be over for now, but he would live for a very long time.

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It had been 3 days and she hadn't heard anything from the team she had sent against the man who called himself Bracken. Sophia saw her kids off to school, made sure they had lunch money, and made them promise they would eat something healthy. No burgers and no pizza. "Yes Mom," her son moaned since today was pizza day at school and he was sure she knew that. He was going to get pizza anyway. After all it was Pizza! Still they each got a kiss and were sent on their way.

Sophia needed to pick up something from the local farmers market for the restaurant. Guy had called to tell her they were having a run on the special. The special was priced at over $100 but it was selling like hot cakes; they hadn't anticipated it selling like this at that price. It was good news since they were still making a profit off of each meal, just not what they normally would have. She had promised that she would be there in 30 minutes, 45 tops. She jogged down the stairs to her BMW in the garage, opened the door, sat down, then began to start the car when she saw something and picked it up.

" **YOU'RE FIRED!"** was all it said. Sophia sucked in a breath knowing what it meant. Time stopped for her at that moment. Her car blew up taking half the house and her with it. She died so quickly there was no pain but the message had told her she was dead. Paladin, her creation, didn't fire people. They eliminated them to ensure there were no loose ends.

Only this time it applied to her.

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Kate had walked back to the motorhome right next to Rick who had shifted back into a human male and had put his clothes back on. He had no idea what she was thinking and he didn't know if her silence was a good thing or the end of them. Even his bear was scared, possibly even more scared than Rick was. It was his bear that had wanted Kate more than he did, not to say that he didn't want her - he did, so very much. As they walked he ached to wrap his arms around her and take away any pain she might be feeling.

Kate silently unlocked the door and walked inside, went to a cabinet and took out a bottle of something. He didn't get a good look at it but it was easy to deduce that it was hard alcohol. Next she pulled out a glass and went to the back of the motorhome. Rick started to follow but stopped as she walked through what would be his bedroom continuing up the stairs to hers. He retreated to the sofa and bent over, his face in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees.

His future was blowing up spectacularly. It was almost an hour later when he stumbled his way into the bedroom, stripped off most of his clothes save for his boxers, crawled into bed, and literally cried himself to sleep. Kate was lost to him, he just knew it. It was Meredith all over again.

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Rick was in awe of the tiny, perfect bundle that was placed in his hands after she had delivered their baby. He hadn't meant for Meredith to get pregnant. After she did, he did what he thought he was supposed to do; he married her. He knew she wasn't his mate but he was a proud man who did the right thing, or so he liked to think.

At first Meredith was actually being a mother. Doting over her daughter, breast feeding her, pumping breast milk for later, changing stinky diapers, cooing and playing with her. Rick was happy until that one fateful day. Alexis was enjoying her first birthday. Okay, her parents were enjoying her first birthday. Meredith had been holding her cooing at her when suddenly she had a snarling, growling bear cub in her hands.

Her reaction was exactly what Rick had envisioned in his nightmares. Meredith literally dropped the baby on her head while he scrambled to get to her and prayed that she wasn't hurt. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?" Meredith screamed at him. "I…I gave birth to that monster!" Meredith was still screaming.

"Mere, Alexis isn't a monster and neither am I. I had hoped to be able to tell you differently but we're both…" She cut him off. "You're a damn monster too? MY GOD! What are you? Are there more of you?" Meredith ran for their bedroom.

Rick was left holding his baby girl bear cub. He finally followed Meredith just as she came rushing out of their bedroom with a suitcase and a carry-on bag. "Where are you going Mere? Alexis needs you, we're a family," he called to her back. "I want nothing to do with you monsters. Don't ever touch or talk to me again." Meredith slammed the door behind her.

A few weeks later a messenger found him and served him with divorce papers. His family was broken. Meredith got all the money and he got his baby girl. "Your wife has signed over everything to do with the child named Alexis Harper Castle to you. According to her lawyer she was quite specific in that she never wants to see you or the "Monster", her word, ever again," his lawyer told him. Rick never heard from Meredith again.

He used what milk Meredith had pumped sparingly as he weened Alexis onto formula using bottles. He never did understand why his baby girl never shifted again. Years later it was like she had never shifted before. He knew the bear within him had a voice; he could only guess that Alexis had the same. Was her bear remaining quiet? Had it been Meredith that had silenced it? Had it awakened lately? Was that why Alexis wanted to go see Kate so badly? Had her bear latched onto Kate to take away the memory of Meredith?

That Kate was now out of their life only caused him to cry into his pillow that much harder. He was hurting and now his daughter was going to be devastated again. Rejected by another woman because he and she were shifters.

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Kate was numb, simply numb, as she walked back to the motorhome. She had come here to make love to the man she was falling in love with, if she wasn't already in love with him. It felt so much like she was that it just kind of came out that way.

She'd found out Rick was a bear and not just any bear. He was a freaking huge bear the size of her Durango in body alone. His "bear hug" had been even more amazing than any of his other hugs. Was Alexis a bear too? She wasn't making love to an animal. She may be prone to a few kinky things but animal sex certainly wasn't one of them. Besides if he was this big as a human, just how big was he as a bear? He would rip her in half. Her thoughts were bouncing around in her head like rubber balls off a wall.

Kate unlocked the door and went in search of the tequila bottle. She grabbed a tumbler and went up to her bedroom. Her bedroom was only about 3 feet high at best. She had to crawl to even get to the bed. One wall had these little cabinets that held some of her clothes and all of her lingerie. She had placed some of it in there with the intent of wearing it on this trip. She wanted to feel sexy and be told she was beautiful and desirable. Most of all she wanted to get laid. Now it was all out the window. Kate poured herself a drink and set the bottle aside on the floor. She propped up her pillows of which she had plenty and leaned back as best she could and sipped her drink.

She replayed the last few months. Her mother, Rick, and Alexis. Oscar and Linda. She was alone in this. She couldn't ask her mother what to do, hell she wasn't even sure if she wanted to tell her mother.

Humans that were also bears, wolves, lions, tigers, and lord knew what else. Rick had held her while he was a bear, and despite his obvious strength, he had held her with such tenderness.

Kate put her glass down and rolled over to plant her face in a pillow. She loved him, she knew she did. She had been using Freddie almost daily since before she had started her new job and the only face she saw while stroking Freddie in and out of her was Rick's. "But he's a bear!" she mumbled into her pillow. She rolled over and slapped her bed with both hands. "DAMN IT!" Why did it have to be so complicated? It was only now that she noticed the stupid voice had remained silent. At least something was working out as planned.

It was an hour later and she was still awake. She had her glass back in her hand but hadn't taken a sip as yet. Her mind was going over everything Rick had told her. He loved her and he wanted her. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "What was it he said?" Kate tried to remember. Something about being bound mates that came with benefits. What kind of benefits? Bound for life? What happened when one of them died after they were bound?

Kate shook her head. She was not making love to an animal! She pounded her pillows and plopped her head down. Then she heard him. He was crying. The sound got her to crawl over to the stairs. She could definitely hear him crying as she laid on her stomach. Kate pressed her face into the floor. Rick was crying and it was breaking her heart. She loved him and she knew it. His crying caused her to cry. "DAMN IT!" she whispered.

It wasn't easy but Kate stripped off all of her clothes and with her heart pounding, she worked her way down the stairs. What she found made her heart break all over again. He was only wearing boxers, lying flat on his stomach with his face smashed into a pillow, his arms and legs spread out to all 4 corners. Now she was the one who wanted to take his pain away.

He had told her his secret and had proven it to her and instead of accepting him she had pretty much rejected him. She started crawling into the bed and noticed that Rick had caught on to her being there. He turned over slightly to look at her with swollen, red, tear filled eyes. "Kate?" he croaked, his voice rough. She made it to his face and placed her fingers over his mouth till she was lying partly on him and next to him.

"Explain what being bound means?" She needed more information. Rick swiped his hand over his face. "Being bound is part a physical thing and part mental. Something in a shifter's bodily fluids make it so that only the mate can excite you physically," he began. "So it's a chastity device for both. What else?" she asked. "The chemicals or hormones exchanged as well as the mental experience make sex between them all consuming. You don't have just physical orgasms but mental ones as well," he continued. "But I'm not a shifter," she pointed out. "Doesn't really change anything, it just means that what you get from me will benefit you while I benefit from nothing," Rick countered.

"You mean you won't enjoy it when I make love to you," she said. "That's not what I said. Your experience and your orgasms will be heightened because of what I give you while I'll remain the same," Rick told her. Kate took it all in and pondered what he'd said thus far.

"What else?"

"The mental aspect means our minds are linked," he replied. "Which means what exactly?" Kate definitely didn't want him reading her mind. "It means we can talk to each other whenever we want. Think of it as a form of telepathy, speaking without talking aloud," he told her. So he couldn't read her mind, only what she wanted to tell him. "What else?" she asked warily, hoping there wasn't much more. All of this was already more than she bargained for.

"I will know when you are in danger and you will know when I'm in danger. Also if you were a shifter you could heal some of my wounds while I can heal some of yours should either of us get hurt for some reason. It's not like neither of us could help the other regrow limbs. But gun shots, knife wounds, and those kinds of things I can fix," Rick explained. "So I can't fix you," Kate stated and watched as he shook his head and wiped away a few more left over tears.

"There's one more thing you should know no matter what." Now came the big one; the one that would make her run.

"There's an organization whose sole reason for existence is to exterminate shifters, all shifters. Lions, bears, wolves, all of them. Every man, woman, and child. I don't know much about them only what my father beat into me," Rick explained.

Hearing that had Kate whip her head to look him in the eye. "Your father beat you?" But Rick's bear was huge, couldn't he fight back? Get him to stop? Plus the knowledge that his father beat him had her stroking his cheek with her finger. "My father decided that the only way to teach me anything involved beatings and whippings," he stated without emotion.

"You couldn't stop him? Is he a bear too?" It suddenly occurred to Kate and watched Rick. "What about your mother?" Surely she didn't put up with this. "You mean my father's life mate who is under his thumb just like everyone else around him," he replied in an expressionless tone. Kate couldn't believe his childhood. So much pain and no love. How did he come from that to be the most loving and gentle person she had ever met?

She worked her way up the bed until she was lying on top of him. She had her answers and none of them scared her enough to stop loving him. Kate kissed him when she was in place, took his hands, easily rolled him onto his back, and pinned them to the bed. She broke from the kiss. "Make love to me Rick," she whispered into his lips. "Kate, if I do…" He stopped talking when she kissed him again. She broke from the kiss quickly. "Shut-up and make love to me. I'm not afraid," she told him and kissed him again.


	21. Chapter 21

**CH21**

It was roughly an hour and 30 minute drive to Rapid City to get to the airport. Johanna was still working out how Rick had talked her into watching over Alexis and the dogs, let alone do that on a day that Oscar was coming out to show her everything he had been working on. What was worse was that Kate and Rick weren't there to advise her what to do. What would they think of what Oscar had come up with? Johanna was sitting at the curb waiting for him to show up. "I hope Katie is enjoying herself," she said to herself.

She snapped out of it when Oscar tapped on the passenger side window. Johanna unfastened her seat belt and got out to open the back lift gate so he could stow his luggage. He had a lot more luggage this time than last, too. He still had his large, flat, portfolio case, however in addition to his carry-on bag like last time, he had a fair-sized suitcase.

"Thanks for picking me up. I thought Rick would be here," Oscar said but wasn't unhappy to find Johanna here. "Rick and Katie are out camping at some lake north of here. I know she took her swim suit though I'm betting the water will still be rather cold," she explained. "Sounds like those two are having fun. And how are you Alexis? Are you giving Johanna any trouble?" Oscar teased. "Alexis is an angel. A far cry from when Katie was her age," Johanna replied, answering for Alexis.

"I highly doubt Kate was that much trouble." Oscar defended her since she wasn't here to do it. "Katie kept me and my husband on our toes. It only got worse when she reached her teenage years. You'd have thought we were both public enemy number one. We were ruining her life." Johanna all but quoted her.

"Like being expelled from school for fighting?" he asked. "My son Michael," he explained when she turned her head to look at him quickly before turning it back on the road. "His last year of middle school, I got a call at work that Michael was being held in the principal's office for fighting. When I arrived he was sitting in a chair in his office with a real shiner. A real beauty. The swelling caused his eye to close and it became necessary for me to take him to an eye specialist to find out if the idiot had damaged it permanently," he remarked.

"And?" she asked. "Enough that it put a halt to his potential for a basketball career," Oscar explained. "Oh no, I'm so sorry," Johanna said, now happy that her Katie was still undamaged for the most part. She had a few scars thanks to her time in the New York Police Department, but nothing that bad.

"It taught him an early and expensive lesson. He was actually pretty good at basketball even at his age. He's doing fine now though. He has a job at a high school teaching Physical Education. He's also their head basketball coach. There's an old saying, 'Those who can't, teach.' Well, he can't, but he does teach pretty good. His school has reached the state finals the last three years. He's had a few kids that have been offered scholarships at different colleges. He's had a few good kids, plus he has his own 'I was stupid' story to tell them to try and set them straight," he explained.

"Sounds like he has turned his life around, you must be proud," Johanna said knowing she was proud of Kate and had told her so when she got her job as deputy. "Is he married, any kids of his own?" she inquired and turned her head for a second to look at him, except what she saw told her that was a bad question.

"Not anymore," Oscar answered in a monotone. "I'm sorry if I brought up old wounds." Johanna knew what those were. "No it's alright. Michael found a really nice girl and married her. I wished his mother had been around to see it. It was a lovely wedding. She was a nice girl," he told her. Johanna caught onto the "was" part right away. "What happened, if I may ask?" She was curious but didn't want to open old wounds.

"Same thing that happened to my wife. Michael was just 12 when she was diagnosed with cancer. She fought it as hard as anyone. I spent what felt like the next year in the hospital. She became weak from chemotherapy and the radiation treatments. She lost all of her hair and was convinced that she was ugly and that I didn't love her anymore. She refused to let Michael see her like that. I finally snuck him in once while she was sleeping so he could at least see her. She was so damned stubborn, she never did see him before she left us. I still don't understand how Michael doesn't blame me for letting her pass on without letting him say goodbye. We don't talk too much about her anymore," he explained.

It had Johanna blinking back tears as she drove. Jim had died in a heartbeat and she knew how much that hurt. She didn't know what would be left of her if she had watched Jim die like that.

She took a quick look in the rear view mirror to peek at Alexis who was sitting there with tears streaming down her face. She pulled over and sat in the back seat the rest of the trip while letting Oscar drive using directions her GPS gave him.

Johanna put Alexis in the living room with one of the books that Rick had left with her along with the bag of dog treats which had Midas and Maggie sitting and watching every move she made.

"I've got a lot to show you and go over with you. Let's start with a site plan of what your restaurant will look like." Oscar pulled out a satellite photo of her site with her building imposed on it. That was followed by a drawing of the site plan. "We had a little trouble with the city about pulling the building out as far as I wanted, even with the drive through for the fire department. I widened the drive through by 3 feet and that satisfied them. It only took one foot off of our foot print which meant we lost 6 seats. We don't have to do anything to the parking lot, they're happy with the way it is. So we'll be using the strip mall parking as our overflow parking."

"I got your email about fireworks and have worked out a permanent spot from which to shoot them. I also got your email about wanting to display your cookies. I'm dying to eat one of these tarantula cookies! I've included a display case that will hold about 8 of each of your cookies on the list at the receptionist area. Your customers will see them first on their way in and order them after dining or on their way out and take some home with them," Oscar told her.

"We only have booths way in back and down this side. Everything else is a table that either seats four or two. You have 182 total seats after we lost 6 across the front. This first line behind the doors is the service line. Coffee, tea, soda, water, fruit drinks, ice cream freezer, freezers and coolers for desserts. The next line is the cooking line. Ovens, griddle, laser egg cooker, steamer, mixer, slicer, fryers, potato peeler, …" Johanna stopped him. "Laser what?" she asked. That had Oscar chuckling. "It's pretty much what it sounds like. You place eggs in one of three locations and in seconds it uses lasers to cook an egg. Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy or over hard. All you have to do is insert the eggs and push a button and poof, cooked eggs. Closest thing we've come to the Jetsons we've had yet." He was still chuckling.

"Next thing you know they'll have robot cookers." They'd put her out of a job. "Never going to happen. Robots are only good at repetition. They can't cook with love like you can. I've tasted your food. There's a piece of you in every dish. No robot will ever accomplish that," he told her which had her blushing a little.

"Now to the other areas. We were able to keep the existing rooftop A/C units though we had to add one for the addition like I thought. The water entrance is too small so we will have to connect to the city main with a new line and a new water meter. The electrical was way too small as anticipated. The transformer was also too small. Those two things are not cheap. The natural gas was also too small, however we've found out that the line to the building is big enough, we just need a bigger gas meter and all new gas piping inside the building. The existing water heater was also too small so we will be replacing it." Oscar kept pointing out where all of these items were located.

"The existing building does have a fire riser so all we need to do is install new sprinkler heads in new locations. That will make your insurance company very happy and you, too, since it will be harder to burn your building down," he pointed out. "We managed to place a gas-fired fireplace on each side of your addition. They are the smallest and least expensive I could find. They're so small they won't keep anything hot. They're only there for looks." He indicated where they were on the drawing.

"Ready for the big one?" he asked but didn't wait for her to answer and took out a board that showed the rendering of the outside from one corner of the building. It had the size, height, and colors he'd chosen based on the menu she had sent him and the logo she wanted to use along with the Yellowstone pictures and other décor items that were inside the restaurant. He pulled the first one out and laid it on the table, this one he stood on its end. Johanna sucked in a big breath and held a hand over her mouth. It didn't look anything like a Wendys® anymore. It was so very different. She could even see the stone exterior of the fireplace on this side and the outside.

"This is the daylight look and this..." Oscar flipped the board. "is the look at night," he said. She moved the hand off her mouth to wipe the tears away. The building had only a little color yet the lights he was using cast colors all over it.

"Now we'll move inside." And he brought out another board that showed an angle view of the interior. In this case the booths that went down one side. Oscar started searching through his carry-on bag and pulled out samples. "This is the floor, this is the tables and this is the chairs." He went diving into his carry-on again. "This is a sample of what we will be using outside and inside for the fireplaces." He handed it over for her to hold.

"You can see the color on the walls behind all of the pictures of Yellowstone, though I may have found an artist that is trying really hard to make a name for himself. So you may have a few original paintings of Yellowstone instead of more pictures," he remarked. Oscar stood back and let her look through everything for herself.

"And what's all this going to cost me?" Johanna asked the big question. If it was too much she was dead in the water. He dove into his carry-on again. "Oh, the chairs are rattan while the booths are leather using this." He handed over another sample to her. It also explained why he had a suitcase this time instead of just a carry-on. He was using the carry-on to hold all of the samples. Next he handed over an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. It was broken down into various sections. Addition, remodel, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, kitchen and exterior lighting and site changes.

Building cost - $656,000

Site work - $52,000 (including repair of street to connect new services to city services)

Permits/Fees – Estimated at $32,000

Furniture, Kitchen equipment, fixtures and signage - $732,000

POS ordering system - $24,000

Smallwares: Dishes, silverware and other utensils - $35,000

Initial Inventory (food) - $32,000

Liquor license - $4,000

Additional funds for first 3 months of operation (This estimates your initial expenses for 3 months of operation. These expenses include working capital, payroll costs, food and liquor costs, utilities, ordinary maintenance, local advertising, advertising fees, telecommunication services, Internet, and other expenses normal in operating a restaurant.) - $405,000 (does not include the owner's salary)

$1,557,000.00

\+ $233,550 for 15% for unexpected costs

$1,790,550.00

Johanna wasn't sure what she was expecting it to cost, was this too much or too little?" This doesn't show the original cost to purchase the existing Wendys®," she pointed out. "It also doesn't include the cost of the land." She didn't see either of those. "And where are your costs, you've done so much. I know you're not doing all this for free." She had found another missing cost. "Where's the legal, accounting, and insurance costs?" She had found more missing costs.

"OSCAR!?" Johanna turned on him and glared at him. ' _Rick wasn't kidding, Johanna can be scary.' he thought._

"All of those costs have already been spoken for. This is the amount of money you need to provide to open this restaurant and run it for the first 3 months. You can expect to make between 2.2 million and 3.5 million annually not including expenses, IRS, or other unforeseen costs. Your salary, if you are careful and successful, will likely be six figures," he offered trying to redirect her thinking.

"Three point five million? Gross?" Johanna's jaw dropped a bit. Oscar nodded. "Yes, based on averages of other restaurants of this size all over the county. Yours will, of course, change each year but you can easily expect to make 3.5 million if not more the first year. Some months and even years will change while you are operational. You keep the locals happy and you can expect to be very successful," he added.

"I need to talk with Katie. Where's the phone?" She got up to start looking for the cordless phone that had a habit of not being put back in the charger. She blamed Katie."Call her in the morning after she and Rick have had some fun. You did say they were camping next to a lake. Maybe she can convince him to go out on a boat," he said. "Besides I want to taste one of these menu meals that you will be serving. I didn't eat lunch just so I would have room," Oscar told her. "I should get cooking then since it looks like I'll be doing a lot of it," she remarked and headed for the kitchen. "That's the spirit," he told her then went to sit next to Alexis who had been very quiet.

"Hello Alexis, how are you?" Oscar asked her but only got a shrug of her shoulders. He hadn't had a little one to deal with for a long time, but that didn't mean he didn't know what to do. He wrapped an arm around her and tugged her into him. "I'm sorry you had to hear all of that in the car honey. You don't need to be sad. My wife had a good life and I loved her a lot. I told her all the time that I loved her." He squeezed her tight for a moment.

"She died." Alexis stated. "Yes, she did, but I made sure she was loved. That's all you can do for another person. Make sure they know they're loved. Do you know you are loved?" he asked not noticing that Johanna was standing not too far away watching and listening. Alexis nodded. "Your daddy loves you?" Oscar questioned. "Anyone else?" He hoped he wasn't playing with fire here. "Kate?" Alexis offered. "Kate loves you. Can you think of anyone else?" he asked thinking he knows of one if she doesn't. Alexis shrugged her shoulders.

That had Johanna on her knees in front of Alexis as she took her hands. "I know Katie loves you honey and I love you. I'll bet Oscar here loves you, too. You have a lot of people who love you. What about your friends at school? Paige, Jenny, and the others? You are more loved than anyone I know," Johanna said to her and watched Oscar squeeze her a little. "I'll bet Midas and Maggie love you. How about you take their favorite toys and go outside and play with them. I'm sure they are dying to play with you. They want you to love them, too," Johanna reminded her and got Alexis to smile. "Come on find their favorite toys and go play with your dogs," she said and lifted her up.

"You were good with her," she said after Alexis and the dogs were gone. "Rick's a good friend; I've watched her grow up, she's a great kid," Oscar told her. "She has my daughter wrapped around her little finger. I've watched Katie sit there and hold her like her life depended on it and I haven't seen her do that with anyone's child," Johanna told him thinking back.

"What happened to your husband if I may ask?" Oscar inquired not knowing just when he died or from what. "Jim died about 8 months ago. I didn't take his loss very well. I think I scared Katie pretty badly. I still haven't thanked her for what she's done."

"He was downtown probably looking for something for my birthday that was the next week," she paused, since it still hurt to talk about it. She didn't miss Oscar's groan about the timing. "He was run over by a drunk who had a blood alcohol level so high it was amazing he was still conscious enough to drive. He was driving without a license thanks to the multiple DUIs he had. He was also rich so we accepted the settlement that we were offered."

"Mostly it was Katie who handled everything; I wasn't any help at all." Johanna remembered what she did or, more accurately, didn't do. "You're entitled to the pain. You dated, got married, your marriage grew, and you had a child. You're supposed to be devastated. Trust me I know." His wife was long gone but that didn't mean he hadn't forgotten her. "I can't even imagine your pain. Jim was gone in a heartbeat, most likely didn't feel a thing. Your wife became ill and the cancer took its time. It's a type of pain I'm not sure I could withstand," she commented.

"I won't lie; I've had better times. At first all I could remember of her was that one bad year. It took a lot of courage to go back and look at old photos and remember the times before she got sick. Those good time pictures helped me a lot when I was down, suicidal down," Oscar remarked as Johanna stopped her dinner prep to look at him.

"You want some advice from someone who has been where you are now? Go look at the pictures you have. Your wedding pictures, pictures at the beach, pictures taken while on vacation. Those stupid Christmas pictures that you mostly took because of your child, which Jim just happens to be in. When you can look at them without sobbing and crying yourself to sleep, you've come to terms that he's gone and that you loved him. That he knew he was loved and not forgotten. When you reach that point your heart will be open again," he apprised her.

"Is your heart open again?" she questioned since she didn't see how hers ever would be again. "I think so," he said. "Does that mean you've met someone that you could let in again?" He had been alone a lot longer than she had. "I'd like to think so, but I'm not sure she does. But I'll keep my eyes on her and when that time comes, hopefully I'll be there. No one is sure just how much time you will be granted. My loss has taught me to grab and hold on or I may lose it forever," Oscar told her.

"Now, what amazing meal are you making tonight?" He smiled since he had found a good cook.


	22. Chapter 22

**CH22**

This chapter may have material more appropriate to an "M" rating. Reader discretion is advised.

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Kate's eyes slowly opened and the first thing she noticed was that she was lying next to, or maybe on, something really warm. It also seemed to be moving a little. Up, down, up, down. Her mind was catching up when she finally figured out she was lying partially on Rick with her head on his shoulder, her face buried in his neck. The movement was his breathing as his chest moved up and down. One of her arms was tucked in under her somewhere while the other was draped over Rick who was lying on his back.

She was downstairs in her mother's bed that Rick was supposed to use on this trip. _'I came out her_ _e_ _to make love to him_ _,_ _'_ she recalled. Then she remembered watching him turn into this monstrous bear who had held her close as she cried into his fur. Even armed with that knowledge she had come downstairs with the intent of following through on her original idea. What had he told her? Something about if they had sex they would be bound to each other for life.

Her mind took her back to last night. She had started out on top and was kissing him while running her hands over his broad chest. She had worked her way down his body to find his erection staring her in the face. Was he so damn big because he was a bear? She had a hard enough time getting his head in her mouth while she licked, kissed, and played with it, paying close attention to the slit at the top.

Kate didn't want to stop but she soon found herself on her back as Rick kissed her and worked his way down her body. He had paid a significant amount of time to her breasts and her nipples. He had finally made it to her core and it had only taken him seconds to bring her to her climax. Then he inserted two fingers into her and found a spot that had her climaxing again in moments. That was followed by three more before he switched back to paying attention to her clitoris.

After another orgasm he went down to her feet and sucked on her toes. He worked his way up and licked her core until she was about to climax again. Then Rick moved his way up her body. Finally he was kissing her; she could taste herself on his lips. She could also feel the head of his erection at her entrance. She wanted him inside her, wanted it bad. What her mind and body wanted was for him to plunge inside her, but she was soon glad that he hadn't.

It had taken him a number of minutes to slide almost all of him inside her. He was stretching her wider than she had ever been before and it hurt so good. Rick took his time until he was slowly sliding in and out of her and she wrapped her legs around him as her mind simply left her. She climaxed and then felt him fill her with his come. And it wasn't just another climax like any other. Her mind was exploding and she was sure she heard Rick in her head telling her that he loved her. What she wanted next was for him to move so she could have another climax just like that one, but when she tried to push him out of her body so she could force him back inside her, she found he didn't slide out of her.

It was at that point she could have sworn he had gotten even bigger and was trapped inside her. Still she wanted that next orgasm, it was like a drug that she just had to have. Kate reached down and stroked herself until she did climax and felt Rick come inside her again as the voice told her she was so very loved.

Minutes later Rick finally slid out of her. Then he started all over again. Six more orgasms later and he was back inside her and trapped within her as he climaxed inside her twice more. Each time had her head exploding followed by the voice tell her that she was loved.

She was ready for a break but Rick was sucking on her toes again and kissing his way up her body til he reached her mouth again. She'd lost count of her orgasms but there were more than she'd ever had before. He was inside her yet again only this time she was on top and was pounding herself up and down on him til she climaxed and found him trapped inside her again until he reached his climax. That one was her doing and she could see Rick smile as she thought about how much she loved him and what a good and caring lover he was. No man had ever done to her or for her like he had done.

Back to the present. Kate couldn't believe what they had done last night. She didn't know she or any woman was capable of that many orgasms. Plus why did Rick get trapped when he was inside her? She had tried several times to have him slide out of her only his erection never moved. He was literally trapped inside her and his size stretched her more the entire time.

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The next thing she noticed was that she really needed to pee, so she started to move off of Rick carefully so as not to wake him. That was when the pain between her legs revealed itself. WOW, she was sore! It was all she could do to walk to the foot of the bed, out the door, and into the bathroom. Just sitting down produced its own pain. GOD what had that man done to her?

Kate finished, washed up, and opened the door to find him standing right there just as naked as she was. "My turn?" Rick asked. "OH, sorry!" She stepped out of the way, walked back into the bedroom then laid back down on the bed. He soon came back into the room and she saw what she had made love to most of last night. She watched him crawl back into bed and wrap her up in his arms. She closed her eyes and moaned since it felt like another one of his award winning hugs. _"GOD above but I love his hugs_ _,'_ Kate thought to herself.

" _I'm glad you like them_ _,_ _"_ a voice replied. It sounded different than the voice in the back of her head though. She lifted up to look at Rick who was smiling at her. _'Now what do I do?'_ Kate thought to herself. They had all day today to be together before driving home sometime tomorrow. _'We could always make love again, unless you're too tired?'_ the voice answered her question. It still wasn't the voice in the back of her head. Just how many voices did she have anyway? Plus she thought they had a deal, it was supposed to stay quiet for the next three days.

Was it possible? Kate looked directly at Rick. "Rick?" she queried. ' _Yes, perhaps breakfast if you don't want to make love,'_ the voice asked her and Rick's lips didn't move. "That was you. I can hear you talking but your lips aren't moving." This time Kate spoke what she was thinking. _'_ _I_ _t's part of the bond we now have that I told you about. You are now my lifetime mate_ _,'_ the voice told her. Kate slapped his chest. "Cut that out and talk to me," she demanded.

He smiled and reached up to pull her head down and kissed her. "No more sex, at least not for a while, Rick. I'm so very sore. I need time to adjust to your size," she said to him. "Breakfast then," he said as she agreed.

"Are you sorry about last night?" Rick asked her since he remembered he had smelled alcohol on her breath. "NO! God, no. I knew exactly what I was doing. We're going to need to talk more about this bond you talked about though," she replied. "Do I need to be next to you to hear you talk without actually talking?" she inquired. "Not that I know of. We can test that today if you want," he said. "You don't know?" Kate was surprised. He shook his head. "I've never had a life mate before or been bonded to anyone."

She twisted her head around. "What about Alexis's mother? I'm assuming you had sex with her to get her pregnant," she said dryly. "True, but we weren't bonded and she wasn't my life mate. Meredith getting pregnant was an accident. After she told me, I married her to support her and the child. Alexis was one and we were celebrating and Meredith was holding her when Alexis suddenly shifted and turned into the cutest little bear cub I had ever seen." Rick was smiling as that picture came up in his mind.

"I take it that it didn't go well," she said gently. "May I try something? I don't know if this will work but it will answer your questions if it works," he said. She nodded, she loved and trusted him. He took her head in his hands, placed his forehead against hers and concentrated on the memories of that day.

Kate saw a tiny Alexis with wispy reddish-orange hair and a birthday cake that had one candle. Rick was trying to get her to blow out the candle while in some woman's arms who had red hair. She was thin and not bad looking. Suddenly Alexis changed into a fuzzy brown bear cub. The women freaked out and called Alexis a monster. Kate suddenly sucked in a breath at her calling Alexis a monster. The vision continued and the woman kept shrieking about Rick and Alexis being monsters. Kate watched her walk out on them, insulting and cursing both of them while leaving him holding a tiny brown furred cub.

She couldn't feel what he must be thinking but it didn't take much imagination. "My god Rick, she was positively horrid! Alexis isn't a monster, she's sweet and so very cute," she told him. "So it worked, you saw that?" he asked not knowing if it would work. Kate nodded. "That must have really hurt," she commented.

"I could take being called a monster; the first time I shifted I was convinced I was just that. My father's daily beatings didn't help any. But to call an innocent baby who didn't even know what she was doing a monster was difficult to take," he admitted. "Sometime in the next few weeks she served me with divorced papers. Her lawyer was quite specific. Meredith wanted nothing to do with Alexis or me and I've never seen or heard from her since then."

"Then why am i your life mate and she wasn't" Kate didn't understand. "Difficult to explain. Basically it boils down to i didn't love her like i love you. Because of this we didn't share chemicals and/or hormones with each other. We were never bound to each other like we are now." Rick does his best to explain.

"Does Alexis shift?" she wondered. He shook his head. "She's never shifted since that day. I've never brought it up and I haven't talked to her about me being able to shift," he explained. "You need to talk to her Rick. She's probably scared shitless. If she ever remembers a portion of that day, even if it's just as a dream or a nightmare, she'll see herself as what her mother said she was…a monster. I'll help you, we can talk to her together," Kate offered and watched as silent tears traced down his face. He had never had any help with Alexis since Meredith left him, and now Kate, his beautiful, wonderful Kate, was offering her help. She suddenly actually felt like a life mate and a bonded partner to him. "I'd like that, I'd like that a lot." His little girl deserved more than just him.

"How about breakfast first?" she suggested when the satellite phone Kate had brought with her rang. The phone was actually Rick's though Kate and Johanna knew that he had ordered and received a replacement. "Or not," she added and groaned a little as she got up to answer it. Whatever they did today better not involve a lot of walking, she was too sore from last night to walk much. Her muscles in that area were protesting what she had done to them.

"Hello?" Kate answered the phone. "Hi Mom. No, we're up, we were just starting to think about breakfast actually. What's up?" she asked as Rick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She melted into him and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Mom, what did you say?" She tried to step away from Rick but didn't get far. "That's great! Is he staying long enough for us to meet him before he leaves?" Kate questioned and could hear her mother asking him.

"The entire week? Okay." She was a little shocked but pleased since her mother seemed to like him. "What did he say about cost?" Kate queried. "One point eight million total. We're definitely going to need a loan," she stated since they had started out with that amount of money and barely had one million left. "What do you mean the purchase of the existing Wendys® isn't part of that cost?" She was perplexed. "The land, legal fees, accounting costs and insurance costs either?" She didn't understand. "Oscar's fee too? So who's paying those costs? That has to be at least what, another one and a half million if not more. …What do you mean he's not telling?" Kate spun in place and looked up at Rick.

"I'll get back to you Mom." She hung up and glared at Rick. "What have you done?" she demanded, poking him in the chest. He was the only person she knew that had that kind of money. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stated and took a step backwards. "You come back here and explain to me everything you've done." She stepped in closer and poked him in the chest again. "Everything! I'm your bonded life mate and you are going to tell me everything from now on," she asserted.

She soon found herself in Rick's arms which had her melting and losing her anger. She shook herself and pushed him away a little. "That's not going to work. Now start talking or else." Kate smiled as she reached her hand down then took hold of his scrotum and just held it. Her threat was unmistakable. Her hand being where it was caused him to suck in a breath and look down at her. "Alright! Yes, I paid for Oscar to do this. I paid for his airline ticket and the chartered jet that got him out here this time," he admitted. "What about the building, land, and other items?" She had both of her hands on his bare chest now. "Yeah, those too. I'm not trying to buy you and your mother Kate, so please don't think that. I was just trying to help. I know opening a restaurant, a really good one, costs money and lots of it," he explained.

"Helping like you did when Mom was so pissed off at you the last time? You just don't learn do you?" Kate tried to sound upset but she was too in love with him to pull it off. "How much?" she asked him. "How much what?" he echoed with a slight smile which earned him a smack to his chest. "The building and land were 1.45 million dollars." Rick braced himself for the verbal and/or physical assault he was sure that was coming his way. Instead he found himself being kissed soundly. _'I love you,'_ he heard in his head.

"You're not angry?" he asked hesitantly. "I probably should be but you better be prepared to be grilled - almost literally - if my Mom finds out what you've done," she warned him. "And thank you by the way. That was very kind of you and you didn't have to do it."

"I thought I did and you're very welcome." He wrapped his arms around Kate and kissed her soundly. She soon found herself in bed again, on top of him this time, bouncing up and down on his erection. She leaned way back and screamed out her orgasm as her mind exploded. Kate collapsed onto Rick and just rested there with an occasional kiss. She started sucking on his neck with the intention of giving him a hickey. ' _What are you doing?'_ She could hear his voice in her mind. ' _Just marking my territory,'_ she replied in her head.

"Kate, our bonding precludes either of us from having sex with another person. It simply can't happen. It's part of that chemical/hormonal sharing that we had," he pointed out."Oh." She had forgotten about that part. "Well this way those other women will think twice before they drape themselves all over you and try to kiss you," she countered. "We live in Newcastle, Wyoming, sweetheart. Just what other women are we talking about here?" he asked, really wanting to know. His question forced Kate to think about it. "SHUT-UP!" she countered hearing his chuckle in her head. "And don't call me sweetheart if you ever want to have sex again." Kate threatens him.

Kate was taking her time getting dressed while Rick was already outside looking around. It was a secluded wooded area and he liked the look and smell of the place. Even the smell of the lake nearby was nice. He could also feel his bear dancing while out in space - he was that high off the ground. ' _You alright in there_ _, love_ _?'_ Rick asked. ' _I'm fine. Be out in a minute_ _,'_ Kate replied.

She stepped out wearing leggings, an oversized t-shirt, and tennis shoes with short socks. "Can we not do a lot of walking please?" she pleaded. Rick started chuckling and opened his mouth to respond. "Be careful what you say. This morning might be the last sex you ever get," Kate threatened him, which got him to shut his mouth with a snap.

"How about a boat rental then. You can sit down for all of it." He offered a compromise. "Deal." She was in and soon they were gliding through the water in a small boat that had a single small outboard motor off the stern. He was following the coast line of the lake allowing both of them to see the forest area that edged the lake. He didn't dare bring them in too close for fear of running aground though. They were on the lake for a couple of hours before they took the boat back then walked back to the motorhome. "Ready for lunch?" Rick asked as Kate nodded. "You stay out here and enjoy the view. I'll bring lunch out," he offered and went inside.

Kate was silent while they ate and Rick was content to let her think things through. She had done a lot last night and changed both of their worlds. "Rick I know it hurts but please tell me about your parents. Are they still alive? Do they live anywhere near here?" She wanted to know his history, maybe even see some baby pictures. He sighed and lowered his BLT sandwich. Kate immediately regretted asking but he started talking before she could tell him to forget it.

"My father, not that he deserves the title, is Jackson Hunt. He's about my size and has white hair now. My mother is Martha Rodgers. She used to be a Broadway actress. She also did a TV daytime drama until her character was killed off. Then she met my father; they bonded and became life mates. She does pretty much anything he tells her to do along with everyone else. Not that I'm sure any of them have a choice." His father had complete control, as he had witnessed firsthand.

"You must hate him a lot," she said, basing her conclusion on the way he spoke about him. "My father decided since he had been given a son that I should take over the clan after he was gone, so he started teaching me everything he thought I needed to know. I was whipped when I got something wrong. Beaten mercilessly when I didn't stand up for myself or order the other children around, telling them what to do. I've had both my arms broken, my nose was broken I don't know how many times, plus I had a broken leg. If it wasn't for my healing ability I would probably have kidney failure and liver damage by now. Oh, I almost forgot about the four broken bibs and collapsed lung," he added as Kate dropped her lunch and reached to hold his hands. "But you look fine," she pointed out. She knew it especially since she had searched almost every square inch of his body last night and he, her.

"All shifters have the ability to heal their wounds. The worse they are the longer it takes, but everything eventually heals, save for losing a limb. In terms of physical power there is no one more powerful than a Kodiak bear. There are rumors of other shifters, ancient shifters who have great power, some even bordering on magic. Real honest-to-goddess magic, not illusions like David Copperfield," Rick explained.

"Do you have any magical abilities?" Kate asked. "Well, maybe some I suppose," he replied getting Kate to glare at him waiting for an answer as to what they are. Then she snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Those amazing hugs you give." It suddenly hit her. Rick smiled at her. "My hugs are not magic so to speak. They do make a person feel better and take away any emotional pain they're feeling. But it's fleeting. A few hours later the pain returns if it's strong enough and affects them so much. My hugs give them some moments of peace that they didn't have but really needed," he confirmed.

That certainly made sense to Kate since she had felt what his hugs could do several times and wouldn't mind if he hugged her again. Anytime, like now even. "What else?" she queried. "You used to be a detective, you tell me." Rick put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands as he stared at her. Kate glared back at him. ' _Challenge accepted_ _,'_ she thought. _'Take your best shot_ _,'_ Rick responded, grinning.


	23. Chapter 23

**CH23**

"What about your mother?" Kate changed the subject to buy her some time. _'Coward,'_ he teased. "My mother does exactly what my father tells her to do. He's the king of his own kingdom a little northeast of here. A small section of it's in Wyoming while most of it's in South Dakota spreading deep into the woods." Rick explained.

"To the northeast." She thought about it. "I thought that was a Native American tribe," she said. "That's probably what a lot of people in town think. A few of them are likely suspicious but I don't think any of them really know the truth. It doesn't hurt that they own a casino that's located on their land. Most everyone in the clan works there. There and the mine they also own," he responded.

"So, not Native Americans," she confirmed and watched Rick nod. "Last I knew there were something like 120 to 130 members of the clan. Except for a select few they're all Kodiak bear shifters. They have what amounts to their own city. Their own security service that keeps outsiders off their property. Housing, theaters, grocery stores, schools, everything a small town would have. Unemployment is zero since my father demands that everyone work, even if it's as a street sweeper using a dust pan and a broom. The last time I saw my mother she indicated that their housing was excellent, though since she does everything my father says, I would take that with a grain of salt," he informed her.

Kate thought about that. An entire community filled with people just like him. "You said there was an organization dedicated to killing all shifters," she commented since Rick dying now would crush her heart. He nodded. "It's part of the reason the clan has its own security force. They monitor their borders and enforce my father's law."

"So your father is a dictator." She was catching on. "He's the most powerful of my kind that I know of. He rules by might; should someone challenge him and win he will be forced out of the clan and will have to live on his own with my mother standing next to him."

"And your mother did nothing to prevent these beatings?" Kate didn't understand that part at all. What kind of mother was she? "My mother swallowed what my father told her - hook, line and sinker. To her way of thinking what my father was doing was preparing me to take over the clan when my father became too weak to rule by force. I had to be strong enough and ruthless enough to rule just like he does. As far as she was concerned, my father was 'teaching me.'" Rick used air quotes on that last part.

"How did you get out?" she wondered. "In the off time between my lessons, beatings, and whippings, I wrote a lot. I finally managed to sneak out a message to someone in New York that I'd been communicating with in addition to the manuscript I had recently finished writing," he told her. "Let me guess - Black Pawn and 'In a Hail of Bullets,'" Kate said. "That's the one. Gina, my publisher, liked it and saw a future in writing for me so she published it. I hid away supplies and clothes for weeks. Studied the habits of the security guards and made a break for it. It took me days to travel across country until I reached Rapid City where Gina had an open-ended airline ticket waiting for me."

"I ran across Meredith, had Alexis, and got more books published. After my divorce, Gina and Paula, my publicist, turned me into a playboy who took home every woman that so much as looked at me and the rest is history. I worked with an architect to have my house built, sold everything I had, fired Gina and Paula, changed my name to my mother's maiden name hoping no one could or would follow me. It was working too, until I ran across one of my bigger fans." He grinned at her. "My mother." Kate knew she wasn't guessing. "And I'm not a bit sorry she is either. I got to find you. There are shifters who never meet their life mates and live out their lives never having been bonded with anyone. They live out their lives completely alone." He gently squeezed her hands. "And I'm not even a little bit sorry for that."

' _I love you_ _,_ _'_ he told her. She replied in kind. "You know, I have two scooters. Feel like going for a ride?" Kate asked him. "Sure if you're up to it," he replied, pleasantly surprised. "My muscles are sore thanks to you. I'll be fine and if you don't wipe that smirk off your face I'll slap it off you." She took her hands back and got up headed for the motorhome.

Rick kept his smirk as he followed Kate to the motorhome. "You take mine since it's the bigger of the two and I'll take Mom's," she offered since he was a big guy. The only problem with this plan was that she didn't have a helmet that would fit him, so they did without. They weren't going out on any roads. The plan was to stick to trails and go deeper into the woods and maybe to the other side of the lake.

Kate was pointing where she wanted to go since she was out in front. After the third time she heard, _'You can just tell me Kate_ _,_ _'_ he reminded her. _'I forgot. I'm not used to being bonded with someone or being their life mate,'_ she replied. _'Welcome to the club_ _,_ _'_ he told her since he wasn't either.

They had gotten pretty far when she stopped and got off to walk down to the shoreline where they could see the marina on the far side. "It's lovely out here. You don't get these kinds of views in New York City," she sighed. "You do if you look in the correct direction," he countered gazing only at Kate. She gave Rick a soft swat to his chest. "Thanks," she blushed.

"I didn't notice it was so late. It's going to be dark before we get back," she remarked. "So we spend the night here out under the stars. I have matches, we can build a fire. Though I didn't think to bring marshmallows." He was a little bummed about that. "It's going to get cold tonight," Kate pointed out since she didn't have a coat and neither did Rick. "Are you forgetting that I'm a bear?" Actually she had. She took hold of his shirt as she brought their mouths close together. "Wrapped up in a bear's fur coat on a cold night in the woods," she smiled. "The chance of a lifetime," he offered. "Don't get cocky Rick, it's unbecoming." Kate needed to bust his bubble and cut him down to size just a little.

They set out gathering wood and rocks to surround their fire pit and selected an open enough site for it. "We don't have any water either," she moaned since she was getting a little thirsty. "We need to plan our outings with a little more care next time," Rick suggested. Still they built up the fire a little bit as he stripped to his skin then turned into a Kodiak bear. He laid down and waited for her to join him. It took some finagling to find the right position but soon anyone looking in couldn't see Kate anymore and Rick's claws weren't poking her.

There was one more thing about doing this. To her it was another bear hug and it had her trying to melt into him. Fifteen minutes passed. _'What's wrong?'_ Rick could feel her quaking a little and felt her tears. "I've never felt like this before in my life. I know it's your ability when you give hugs, but I feel safe, happy, and loved with not an ounce of worry for the future. I can just hear Lanie saying what she'd think of this." Kate moved a hand to wipe away some of her tears.

' _And who is Lanie?'_ Rick had never heard of her before. "Lanie was my best friend in New York. She's an ME that works in the same precinct I did. She knows just how to push my buttons to get me to talk to her and make me see what I'm doing is so stupid. I can just hear what she would think of this," Kate confided.

' _And?'_ he questioned. "I talked to her a couple of weeks ago and she got out of me that I was seeing a lot of you," she revealed. _'And?'_ he queried again. "She wanted to know if I had jumped you yet," Kate confessed, and could feel his body vibrate with chuckles. "Shut-up and go to sleep Rick," she warned him. "WAIT! I GOT IT! Normally there's no way I would have told you what Lanie said. It was way too embarrassing. You can get me to tell you what is on my mind when you hug me." She had worked it out. _'Guilty as charged_ _,_ _'_ he admitted, not yet willing to divulge that it worked both ways since she hadn't asked. Plus she wasn't hugging him.

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Oscar was up, showered, and dressed and entering the living room on his way to the kitchen where he found Johanna already up, dressed, and cooking. "Good morning," he said cheerily. "Good morning! I hope you're hungry. I've gotten used to cooking for three adults," Johanna said a bit sheepishly. "I'll go on a diet when I get home," he replied. She ultimately placed two waffles with strawberries on a plate for him along with maple syrup and a glass of orange juice followed by a slice of toast with strawberry jam. She served about half of that for herself.

"Is Alexis not up yet?" he asked. "The dogs would come down if she was, giving me my clue that she is awake and that I need to go upstairs and put her in the tub," Johanna explained from her previous experience, just as Midas and Maggie came downstairs looking for their own breakfast.

She tried to hurriedly eat her breakfast. "Would you feed the dogs please? They get one quarter can of canned food each and two cups of dry each," Johanna asked then hustled upstairs.

He was putting their breakfast together after filling the water bowl and their food bowls. "Okay you two, here you go." He placed the bowls on the floor and watched both of them eat like they'd hadn't been fed in days. "You two are vacuum cleaners," he commented as he watched them lick each others bowl clean. Happy with themselves, they headed for the front door and stood there. "If that isn't a clue I don't know what is. I wish my guys were as well trained as you two," Oscar commented as he opened the door to watch them launch themselves outside.

He walked outside into what was still a brisk morning, kind of wandering around when Johanna found him. "Alexis is up, clean, and eating her breakfast. I'm assuming the dogs are out here somewhere," Johanna said, looking around while she walked with him. "Yeah, those two are well trained. They ate and wanted out. If I'm not fast enough my guys will just do it indoors somewhere, though in their defense they're getting old," he reflected.

"What kind of dogs do you have?" Johanna inquired. "They're Miniature Schnauzers. Pepper will turn 15 in a couple of weeks while Chili turned 15 last month. I got Chili and decided he needed a playmate so I went out and got Pepper. Since my son moved out and ultimately got married, they're what I come home to each day. As sad as it sounds, they're my children now. I even put sweaters on them when it's cold outside and a rain coat when it's raining. One's a cuddler and the other will tolerate being held for about a minute." He laughed at his life.

"I even take them into work with me most days. They have their own beds, food bowls, and a water bowl. Most of my staff has adopted them as the office mascots." Oscar was still laughing. "It sounds nice," she commented. "Yeah, but except for an occasional light woof, they don't talk back. They're not exactly gourmet eaters either." Now he had Johanna laughing.

"MIDAS, MAGGIE!" Johanna yelled to get them to come back. "MIDAS…" She stopped when she saw them coming mostly side by side at a dead run headed right for her. She got ready to be crashed into when they both hit the brakes and sat in front of her looking up at her. "You yelled?" was obviously what their body language said. "Go get Alexis," Johanna commanded and she and Oscar watched Midas and Maggie take off for the front door that she had left open. It left Oscar standing there with his mouth hanging open.

Just minutes later they both came charging back outside with Alexis behind them carrying a stuffed dog toys that she threw once she reached the grass. One of them got it but both of them went back to Alexis where she had to play tug of war to get the toy back, only to throw it again.

"I have the wrong dogs," Oscar said. "Actually what I think you need is an Alexis." Johanna was sure those two wouldn't be like this without her. "I'm too old to have another child that age," he replied. "Yeah, me too," Johanna added. "Nonsense, I've watched you with her. You'd do great with another child." He contradicted her opinion. "Me, have another baby? I don't think so. It may not technically be too late to have another but I'm betting that will happen shortly. One is enough, more than enough." Johanna remembered what she went through with Kate.

Oscar kept his mouth shut and watched Alexis play with her dogs. "Any plans for today?" he asked. "Just keeping Alexis happy and busy. We're going to the Pizza Barn in town tonight. She has a thing for pizza I'm told," Johanna explained.

The three of them spent part of the day playing a board game; before Rick left he had told her where they were located. Johanna was back in Rick's kitchen making lunch when Oscar entered. "I'll be glad to get home, working in this kitchen and staying in this house is spoiling me," Johanna remarked.

"Why thank you." Oscar took partial credit. "I designed Rick's kitchen while the house was under design," he explained answering the look on her face. "Why am I not surprised," she huffed. "I do know one thing - I'm going to find out where he got his sheets. His bed is nice but I like mine better, however, his sheets are heavenly," she gushed. "If they're the same as in the spare bedroom, I heartily agree with you. I'm betting he brought them with him from New York," he commented. Then Alexis and the dogs suddenly showed up in the kitchen. "Lunch is almost ready honey. Please go wash your hands so we can eat," Johanna told her and watched her run to the half bath near the front door.

Johanna and Oscar were standing out back, watching Alexis play on her giant playset. Up the stairs and down one of the slides. Up the stairs and down the slide. Everywhere she went the dogs would bark when they couldn't get to her. One of them, Johanna was guessing Midas, actually gave climbing the ladder a try but failed and never tried again. Then they were running around her as she swung on one of the swings, only to go over to the rock climbing wall til she was inside and down a slide.

Tomorrow Johanna was going to have to get her ready for school. She hadn't done something like that for a long time. Still it was just like riding a bike, right?

Dinner was followed by a movie that Alexis fell asleep half way through. "I'll take her and you can change her clothes," Oscar offered and carried her upstairs. He left the rest of it to Johanna.

He had switched on ESPN and was watching Sports Center getting scores of what had been happening Saturday and today. "I take it you're a sports fan?" Johanna asked as she sat down next to him. Not so close that they were touching, but close.

"I follow college games because of Michael. He might have been a college player had he not gotten hurt. The pros all make way too much money. None of them are worth that kind of money. Still most of them spend their money like there's no tomorrow, so I suppose I should thank them for keeping the economy going," he said.

"Jim didn't follow any sports except baseball. He loved baseball. I swear if there was a statistic he knew it. Followed the local teams to the detriment of everything else. He even contaminated our daughter. Katie loves baseball just as much as he did," Johanna mentioned, remembering Jim. "See you're getting better. You talked about him and only talked about the good times, not the day he died." Oscar tried to provide encouragement. Johanna was actually shocked. He was right.

"When are our two love birds due back?" he asked. "I seriously suggest you not use that term around Katie when they get back unless you like hospitals," Johanna cautioned him. "So they're both still in denial?" he asked. "I'm hoping this trip that Katie dreamed up fixes all that, but I'm not holding my breath. I think it's my fault. She inherited my stubborn streak."

"But they're due back tomorrow?" he questioned. "Yeah, I just don't know when. If Katie hasn't killed him they might be home by breakfast. However the later they arrive the higher my hopes will soar."

"Rick's a good man, she could do a lot worse. Does she have a problem with him already having a child?" he inquired. "I've watched Katie hold onto Alexis like her life depended on it. She never did do any baby sitting as a teenager. Children just weren't her thing. But I have high hopes that Alexis is different somehow." Johanna didn't see love in her eyes but there was something going on between those two.

"Well, I'm not as young as I used to be so I'm heading up to my room. I still need to take your final menu list you gave me and work up a cost of what it takes to make each dish so you know what to charge to make a profit. That includes the wines," he mentioned.

"I don't know how I'm going to thank you for all you have done. "Johanna placed a hand on his arm that Oscar took in both of his. "Just succeed that will be enough. Oh, one more word of advice. One day every month bring in all of your employees and close the restaurant. Have them clean every square inch of space. Use a wire brush to scrub every piece of cast iron. Don't stop until every item made of stainless steel shines. That there isn't so much as a dust bunny anywhere and every year paint everything that has paint on it. Rub every piece of wood till it shines as well. You want that 100 from the health department."

He risked it and lifted her hand then brushed his lips over it. He let go of her hand, went upstairs, and never looked back. His heart was pounding with every step till he closed his door then sagged back against it. If she still talked to him in the morning, he had done no damage. He wasn't hoping for anything more.

Johanna watched him brush a light kiss over her knuckles and watched him walk away with her mouth hanging open. She liked him, she really did. But he was also the architect for the restaurant that she was trying to open. He had done so much for her. She owed him, but his little kiss had her thinking. "Jim was my one and done," Johanna argued with herself and decided to follow Oscar upstairs. That was until she remembered and started for the door. "Midas, Maggie, let's go," she called, getting the dogs to come running and go outside with her so they could do their thing till morning.

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Johanna had to get up early in case Alexis was up. Rick had warned her that she would likely try to sleep in on a weekend. On a school day, however, Alexis was likely to beat her to the kitchen.

She dragged herself out of bed, looked at herself in the mirror and blanched. She stuck her tongue out at herself. Getting old sucked big time. Johanna made it to the door and opened it and saw the other two bedroom doors were still closed which told her that Alexis wasn't out of her bedroom yet. Up maybe but not out.

Johanna shuffled down the hall but heard a sound coming from somewhere. She was just reaching Oscar's bedroom door where it was a little louder. Putting her ear to the door confirmed her suspicions. She knocked softly and waited but nothing changed so she turned the doorknob and cracked the door open. Oscar was crying, really crying. No, that wasn't the right word to describe what he was doing. He was flat out sobbing!

Johanna opened the door a little wider and saw him curled up in a fetal position on the bed across the room. She was very concerned and started walking into the room except she stepped on something. "OW! Damn it." She looked down and saw the remnants of a broken phone. It didn't take much to put 2 + 2 together and get that he'd received a phone call which had left him crying and had thrown the phone at the door.

She approached him; he hadn't stopped or slowed down. Johanna bent down and touched his shoulder. "Oscar?" she said hesitantly. However he acted like she wasn't even there. Whatever it was, he was hurting badly. She only knew of one thing to do and it came naturally. She climbed into bed and spooned him from behind whispering comforting words in his ear while she stroked his shoulder and ran her hand through his hair. She was amazed that he had a full head of hair. So many men couldn't say that these days. It was silver but he still had every hair. Actually it was one of the things that she liked about him. He was still handsome.

Johanna was lost in trying to comfort him. He'd at least slowed down to crying instead of body-quaking sobs. "Is Oscar sad?" a little voice said quietly. Johanna turned her head to see Alexis still in her pajamas standing there looking upset. "Something happened honey and I don't know what yet," she answered and came up with an idea. "Can you pick up the phone off the floor and hand it to me please?" she asked her.

Luckily for her Alexis brought back each piece that she found which happened to be the phone whose screen had a spiderweb of cracks on it and the battery. Putting the battery back in place and turning it on, Johanna found that it was unlocked so she looked at his call log and pulled up the last call he had received.

Seaport Animal Hospital, New York, NY 646-561-9340

"OH NO!" Johanna prayed it didn't mean what she thought, but why would he be sobbing if it wasn't bad news? Plus she knew what his two dogs meant to him and just how old they were.


	24. Chapter 24

**CH24**

Kate woke up and found herself still curled up inside of the bear's arms. It was actually warm in there and she was a little sweaty. That was when it occurred to her she was still in yesterday's clothes. "Rick, you awake? …RICK!" Kate yelled. _'I am now_ _,_ _'_ he responded. "Let me loose please. I really need to pee and we have to get back to the motorhome. I so need to take a shower!" And take off her bra and panties that she had been wearing for the last 2 days and take a shower!

He uncurled and released Kate who went in search of just the right bush and squatted. Shortly afterwards she could hear him watering his own bush. She watched a naked Rick walk back into their makeshift camp giving her an eyeful. She didn't understand it. She was still a little sore but she wanted him again as she watched him put his clothes back on. Now that she had made love to him, she couldn't get enough of him. Was that another thing he could do or was she just that horny?

Kate made sure their little fire was out by throwing enough dirt on it to bury it and started up her scooter followed by Rick on his. It didn't take as long to get back as it did to leave. "Dibs on the shower," she called as she shut down her scooter. "I'll secure the scooters to the floor," he offered and watched her go inside. Kate stripped and was so glad to be rid of her bra and her panties. She turned on the water and waited for it to come up to temperature.

She walked out of the bathroom naked to find Rick stripping for his turn while he watched her every move. "See something you like?" she said coyly as she grabbed a towel to dry off. "I was just hoping there would be enough hot water later after I ravish you," he said, his voice rumbling. She didn't know what got into her but she stepped into his arms and kissed him, feeling his arms surround her. His hugs and now making love to him were like a drug. She wanted all she could get of him.

"Food first, I need the energy." Kate gave him another quick kiss and started towel drying her hair as she watched him squeeze into the shower. Squeeze being the operative word. He was so big he took up almost all of the space. Still he came out wet, clean, and naked to find her cooking breakfast. He was mostly dry when he surrounded her with his arms. He kissed her shoulder and made his way to kissing her neck. "Down boy, food first." Kate wiggled him off her. "Fine have it your way." He kissed her shoulder again and went looking for some clothes. "RICK?" She had a question. "Hm?" he responded as he slid into a pair of pants.

"When we were making love it felt like you were trapped inside me and couldn't withdraw. I know I'm right. Was there a reason for it?" she questioned. "It's part of the bonding and the exchange of chemicals and hormones. The head of my penis expanded to roughly twice its size forcing me to stay inside you when I climaxed making sure the exchange took place," he explained. "But that happened every time you were inside me." She wasn't sure she wanted that to happen every time in the future. "That's because it was all done in the same act of love making. The next time we make love it won't happen because we're already bonded," he replied.

She relaxed a little. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, it was just that she wasn't used to his size yet. Kate soon found his arms around her again as she placed more bacon in the pan. "Did I hurt you?" He would die if he had. She gave up on the bacon, twisted in place, and took her lover's face in her hands. "No, it was amazing. No man has ever done what you did. I just need time to adjust to your size. I've never felt loved while having sex like that. I love you." And she kissed him.

Kate broke from the kiss. "You're sure you're not sorry you're bound to me for life?" Rick questioned her hesitantly. He knew _he_ wanted her, not just because of the bear inside him. "No, I don't play around Rick. You're mine and I'm not trading you in for someone else." Like anyone else could make love to her like he did. It earned her a kiss from him.

"Did you have a plan for when we go home? This trip was your idea and it was a good one," he remarked, thrilled with how their weekend had gone. "I was thinking we could walk around a little since we don't have helmets for the scooters, have lunch, then make love again," she shyly offered.

"I've created a…" He stopped since he was going to say monster, but that word had a negative connotation to it. "I like your thinking." Rick revised his response.

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Johanna was conflicted. Oscar needed her and Alexis needed her. Alexis needed to have breakfast, get bathed, to get dressed, and be driven to school, but she didn't want to leave Oscar hurting like this.

"Go down to the kitchen honey and I'll be right there." Johanna had to prioritize and right now Alexis came first. "I have to look after Alexis. I'll be right back after I drop her off at school," she whispered into Oscar's ear and kissed his head then extracted herself from him.

"Is Oscar still sad?" Alexis asked as they were eating breakfast. "Yes he is, but I'm going to work on making him feel better while you are at school. He'll be his old self when you get back." Or at least she hoped he would be.

Johanna was debating how to go about this all the way to the school and all the way back. So much so that when she stopped she was in front of her house and not Rick's. "GREAT!" She turned around and drove across the highway shaking her head trying to get her mind back in the game.

Much to her surprise Oscar was downstairs in the living room watching TV. ESPN again to be precise. "Hi, feeling better?" she asked, but didn't get an answer. She took the remote out of his hand and turned off the TV. "Oscar?" Johanna watched him turn his head to look at her but there was no one home. His eyes were dull and lifeless and he seemed to be looking through her, not at her.

She moved in close and pulled his head down onto her shoulder until she got an idea. She shifted a little and pulled him down until his head was in her lap. Johanna started stroking his hair and face softly and slowly, not saying anything. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but she noticed that he was crying again. Softly this time. "Which one was it? Or was it both?" she quietly asked.

"I should have been there. They died cooped up in some stupid kennel surrounded by people they didn't know. I left them and they died," he was able to choke out. Johanna kept stroking his hair. "You had 15 years with them. Since they were tiny puppies. They knew that you loved them," she countered. "And I abandoned them when they needed me. I'll never see them again. No one will be waiting for me when I get home. There will be no one under my desk sleeping the days away." His tears rolled down the side of his face dropping onto her pants.

Johanna simply stroked his hair until he was asleep again. Listening to his pain was breaking her heart. He had done so much for her. There wouldn't be a restaurant without him even if they hadn't started construction yet. They had 3 months until July 4th; it was going to be close.

She didn't leave him until it was near lunch time. Oscar was hurting and Katie and Rick weren't back yet leaving her on her own. Yet she had no intention of calling Katie and ask that she come home. She deserved her time and Johanna could only hope that the trip was working out.

She extracted herself from beneath him and replaced her lap with a pillow. Coming back she put lunch on the table and let him sleep.

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Kate was resting up against him. She was still amazed at what Rick could do. She felt guilty though. She knew he had only climaxed once while she had seven. There was one more thing about making love to him this time. His penis didn't get trapped inside her now. They were already bonded and she had taken great pleasure in riding him with him inside her until they both climaxed.

She sighed. "I have to go back to work tomorrow." Being out here with Rick had spoiled her and she knew it. "How's that car seat working out for you?" He stayed on the subject of her work. "Pretty good actually. It stays cool and doesn't hurt my tailbone. Thank you." Kate leaned over to kiss his cheek. "And you're still patrolling out in the middle of nowhere?" he queried. "I'm low man on the totem pole, I'm going to get all the shit stuff. I knew that going in. It's nothing I can't handle. I'll be fine," she told him.

"So how is your boss?" Rick asked. "The Sheriff? Alright I suppose. I don't actually see him much. I pick up my route each week and I see him in the office but besides when I was hired I haven't spoken to him since. …Why?" She turned on her side to face him. "No real reason I suppose. I was just wondering why he hired a homicide detective then put her out in the middle of nowhere. I know you're the rookie and you get the crap they hand out. But Kate, you have skills that aren't being utilized. He could have hired any beat cop from any city, so why you? Sure you asked for a job and he gave you one. Maybe there aren't that many homicides in Weston County, but why is a detective way out there?" he questioned her, perplexed at the sheriff's actions.

"What do you want me to do, storm into his office and demand he put my skills to better use? He might fire me!" she responded hotly. "No of course not. You're a detective act like one and detect. Why are you in a car, find out why," Rick suggested. "I was a homicide detective not a spy." Kate countered.

"Kate Beckett, a CIA spy living in Newcastle, Wyoming. The perfect place to hide from assassins sent by enemy or rogue countries who want her dead or captured so they can find out what she knows." He smiled as he stared at the ceiling. "Rick? What the hell are you doing?" She wasn't sure what was going on inside his head. "Relax, I'm not going to use your real name and I'm certainly not putting you in Newcastle. I was thinking more along the lines of a little town in Switzerland or maybe the south of France. Oooo I know - Monte Carlo, living on a 300 foot yacht! Hiding out in plain sight right under their noses."

"Rick, what _are_ you doing?" Kate asked again. "I'm thinking of a new character for a book series based off on you," he explained. "ME!? Why me? I'm just a sheriff's deputy," she countered, bewildered. "But you didn't used to be and in a book you can be anything you want to be. It'll be great!" He was liking the idea the more he thought about it. "There better not be any real me in this book of yours, and I'm reading it before you publish it," she informed him tartly, knowing she couldn't stop him from writing it, just hoping she could prevent it from being published.

They had decided to head home after eating a late lunch. Since it was her motorhome she was driving. "You're thinking awfully loud over there," Rick said. "I was just thinking about the last 3 days. I thought up this idea so we could get away from my mother and your daughter. I wanted to find out if you were interested enough in me to have sex. I just got a little more than I bargained for." Kate was thinking about getting laid, not being bound to him as his life mate.

"Having second thoughts, because it's a little late for that now," he asked, a current of unease in his voice. "I'm just not sure what happens next and no, I'm not having second thoughts. So if you're thinking about going into the back of the motorhome to sulk, you can stop right there. I heard you, Rick, and I understood every word you said. I'm just a little scared. I practically married you the other night and getting married was not on my mind when I got you out here," she commented.

"Well, we're not married Kate and we don't ever have to be if you don't want to be," Rick said. "I thought you said we were bound to each other for life. Life mate and all that jazz," she questioned. "Oh we are, we just don't have to get married is all I'm saying," he clarified. "So you don't want to marry me? Have sex with me, bond with me, and make me your life mate, but you don't want to marry me?" She just knew this getting together was going to end badly.

"Please don't put words in my mouth or start jumping to conclusions. I made love to you because I wanted to. To me you were my life mate long before I even met you. We weren't married then and we don't have to be married now. The bonding is physical Kate, not mental. Being bonded doesn't mean anything other than we are physically dedicated to each other now."

"If some day you decide you hate me, you can leave me, divorce me, or disappear. That's still your choice. You're not bound to me body and soul. We'll have arguments, fights and one of us will be sleeping on the sofa, but you're not mine, Kate. I don't own you," he said, desperate for her to understand.

"I just can't have sex with anyone else." Kate dumbed it down. "The same applies for me," he pointed out. "It really is a chastity device I guess." At least it sounded like one to her. "Think of it this way, neither of us can cheat on the other. We'll each know that no matter what another woman or man does, we'll be faithful to the other for the rest of our lives," he told her. Now that was something she could live with. Her man wasn't going to be going around cheating on her. "Happy now?" he questioned. "Better, yeah," Kate replied and kept her eyes on the road.

"When does school get out for summer?" She changed the subject. It took him a few seconds since they had been talking about bonding and life mates just a moment ago. "Um, late June I think, why?" he answered. "It was something Alexis said. Her friends wanted to go camping with her and if my Mom and I went too, we'd have an extra bed since the sofa converts into a bed. Except that we are trying to get the restaurant open by the 4th of July," Kate commented. "Plus I haven't looked at when my days off are around that time."

"Have you secured financing yet?" he asked, only to see Kate shake her head. "Talk to Oscar. He most likely knows of a few banks that are used to giving out loans to restaurants. You might get better terms that way," Rick advised.

"We still need to figure out where we can all go and come back inside of 3 days," Kate mentioned, trying to think of somewhere but not knowing the area that well. "I need my laptop." Rick couldn't plan anything without it.

It was almost 2 hours later; they were finally home. Kate was backing the motorhome into the RV barn behind their house. After emptying the motorhome's refrigerator she rode with Rick in his truck back over to his place. It was time to check in with her mother, Alexis, and Oscar.

Midas and Maggie greeted them at the door. "Hi guys! Did you miss me?" Rick did his best to pet them when they weren't getting petted by Kate. "Where's Alexis?" he asked and watched them run upstairs. "Looks like I'll be upstairs," he said and started for the stairs. "I'll be in the kitchen," Kate informed him thinking that's where her mother would be.

She got an eye full as she passed the sectional on her way to the kitchen. It was there that she found her mother leaning into one corner of the sectional, asleep with a sleeping Oscar's head in her lap. Even more damning was the fact that her mother had a hand in his hair. Kate slapped a hand over her mouth. "OH MY GOD!"

She ran up the stairs as quietly as possible, going straight into Alexis's room. She found Alexis sitting next to Rick talking to him. "Come on!" Kate grabbed his hand and yanked him up. "KATE?" He didn't understand, what could possibly be wrong? "Hush, not so loud or you'll wake them," she warned and dragged him out of the room towards the open hallway leading to the stairs. "Wake who?" he asked. She simply pointed when they reach the railing and Rick looked over to see what Kate had seen earlier. "HOLY…!" She put a hand over his mouth, since he was talking too loud. "When did this happen?" he asked much softer, only to see Kate shake her head. Back into Alexis's bedroom they both went.

"Pumpkin, did something happen today?" Rick asked her, only to see her shrug her shoulders. Kate got down on her knees in front of Alexis. "Has my mother or Oscar been sad today?" To her it looked like her mother was consoling Oscar by holding his head and stroking his hair. Alexis nodded. "Before school?" Kate asked and got another nod. "What about after school, were they still sad?" she asked as Alexis nodded once more.

"Who was sad? Oscar?" Rick asked and watched her nod. "He was crying," Alexis said. "Do you know why he was crying sweetie?" Kate asked, only to see Alexis shake her head.

Oscar had been crying and her mother had been consoling him all day long. It must really be bad to last all day. "Did someone come over and make him sad?" Kate tried, only to see Alexis continue to shake her head. It was beginning to feel like an interrogation back in New York to her.

"Did someone call with bad news?" Rick tried since no one came to the house. "It's broke," Alexis said. "What's broke? The phone?" he asked and she nodded. "Where's the phone now?" he questioned and got Alexis to point. "His bedroom," he stated and hurried out while Kate got up and held Alexis who looked sad herself.

He returned with a cell phone with no back to it. "The screen's damaged," he said and turned it on. Since it was unlocked he searched the phone and found the call log. "He got a call early this morning from Seaport Animal Hospital," Rick stated and looked at Kate. "An animal hospital, not a people hospital?" she queried. "Well, I know Oscar has two dogs at home and since he didn't bring them, either someone was watching over them or he left them in a kennel. A hospital suggests something bad happened." Rick tried to figure what had happened.


	25. Chapter 25

**CH25**

"Esposito," Javi said as he answered the phone. "Hey Espo." Kate was glad to hear his voice. She missed her friends and even her old job, but her mother came first so she wasn't second guessing her decision to move to Wyoming. "BECKETT! How are things out in the middle of nowhere?" He and Ryan had already found out where she had moved to and Lanie was working on how to get there and where to stay.

"I'm fine actually. A little tired of sitting in a car all day, but I'm fine," she admitted. "Car? What are you doing, driving a delivery truck like one of those long haul 18 wheelers?" He doubted it but he wouldn't put it past her. Kate laughed which was already a change. Maybe the move had been good for her. "I'm driving a patrol car actually. A stupid Dodge Durango to be precise," she told him and if it wasn't for Rick's seat cushion she'd have shot it full of holes by now. "You're a beat cop?" He was shocked and had Ryan's attention now. "In a way yeah. Listen I need a really big favor, and feel free to turn it down…" Kate was interrupted.

"Why are you wasting my time, just tell me what you want," Espo said since Beckett's asking for anything meant he was willing to do it. "Please do your damnedest not to let Montgomery catch you at this, but I need you to run a background on someone for me. Try and do everything that you can, dig as deep as you can. He's the sheriff of Weston County and his name is Christian Dahl. Tell me where he lives, whether he's married, who his kids are, his background all the way back to high school, who his friends are if he has any. Everything Espo, everything you can find," Kate asked him.

"You got it, give me a few days and I'll wrap it all up and give it to you. How do you want it?" he asked her. "Work with Tori and have her send it to the email address I'm about to give you. Ask her to route it through as many servers as she can including out of the states," she said and gave him the address.

"Are you in trouble Beckett? Ryan and I can put in for some time off and be out there tomorrow," Espo offered. "No, no trouble. Rick's worried that the guy is dirty and I just want to be sure for my peace of mind," Kate told him not noticing that she just said something. "Rick, who's this Rick?" He pounced on the name instantly. She cursed internally. There was no way she was telling Espo that Rick was her life mate and that she was bonded to him for the rest of her life. "Rick is just a friend we have out here. He and his daughter actually live across the highway from us." She hoped that adding the word daughter would make him think that Rick was married.

"RIGHT. Whatever you say Beckett." Espo didn't buy a word of it, except for the name. "You want me to do a search on this Rick guy too? No charge," he offered. "Just stick with Dahl, Espo and get back to me when you find out what you can. And thanks Javi, I owe you." Kate ended the call before she dug herself in any deeper.

"What did he say?" Rick asked as he walked up to her with two glasses of wine and handed her one. "I slipped and told them your first name and that you lived across the highway. Espo is going to look up Christian Dahl and probably you, too, now that he has something to work with," she warned him. "I thought you said you didn't tell them where you moved to?" he questioned. "They're detectives Rick! They probably have a satellite view of my house as wallpaper on their computer by now." Or worse, pinned up on the board in the breakroom.

"I hope you know what you're doing. He's a county sheriff and I work for him." Kate was new and likely to get fired if he found out he had been looked at and assumed she had something to do with it. "I may not be a detective with your training, but if I was writing this story, he would be dirty. Like millions-in-the-Caymans kind of dirty," he commented. "And if he's that rich and that dirty, what's he doing out here?" she asked. "Because there's something out here that concerns him. Person, company, an area. I don't know what, but something. I'm telling you Kate, he's dirty. Name one county sheriff that drives a top of the line new car year after year?" Rick demanded, since she had already found out he got a new car every year from the other deputies in the office.

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Everyone but Johanna and Oscar was in the kitchen while Rick did the cooking since neither he nor Kate wanted to disturb them. They knew something bad had happened while they were gone, but they would wait to find out what.

"You really think he's dirty?" Kate questioned again, even though she had caved in and called Espo asking him to dig into his life. "Dirty might be the wrong word, at least in the context you are thinking. But he _is_ hiding something, I can feel it. It just fits so neatly into the story," Rick said. "You do know your stories are works of fiction?" she countered. Rick was, or maybe Kate was, spared his comment when Johanna entered the kitchen.

"When did you two get back?" Johanna was mildly surprised. "About 4:30 or so. Just long enough to see you and Oscar on the sectional," Kate replied. Johanna was immediately on the defensive. "Nothing happened. Oscar got a call that his two dogs had passed away within an hour of each other and it hit him hard. So I did what I could to help him get past it." Johanna tells them.

"Where is he now?" Rick asked distracting her. "He went upstairs to shower and change clothes. Now get out of your kitchen and let me cook." Johanna shooed him away. "And take her with you," Johanna said, staring at Kate.

"Let's take your dogs outside Alexis." It was likely time for them to do their business anyway. They were still outside though Kate was with Alexis as they were each throwing a stuffed toy for the dogs to go get bring back and play tug of war before chasing after it again.

"So did anything happen while you two were alone?" Oscar showed up next to Rick who was just watching them. "What happened between you and Kate's mother? Your head was in her lap when we came home," Rick countered. "I suppose you've heard by now." Oscar was still hurting. "I'm so sorry, Oscar. I shouldn't have teased you. I know you've had those two for a long time. I take it you'll be leaving soon?" he questioned.

"I need to get Johanna in front of some banks so she can arrange financing. I've already got a general contractor on stand-by who has his subs ready. She just needs money," Oscar told him. "If possible we'll leave tomorrow. Time is something we don't have if she wants to be open by the 4th," he admitted. He also didn't have the time to mourn any longer if he was to help Johanna.

"I hope she's ready for New York," Rick said worriedly. "You might want to talk with Kate first and get some moral support to get her there," he advised. "Probably a good plan," Oscar replied and began walking towards Kate.

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Johanna had been mostly fine while Rick drove just Oscar and her to the airport since Kate was at work and Alexis was in school. "Where are we going?" She didn't understand where they were headed since Rick didn't drive to the terminal. "Oscar got out here on a private jet and that's how he's going back. He's just taking you with him. You, however, have an airline ticket back in 5 days. I'm hoping that's long enough for you to secure your financing. Plus Kate will be off work when you get back," Rick informed her. "Private jet?" she queried and turned on Oscar who was in the back seat. "Don't look at me." He held up his hands knowing he had nothing to do with this. "RICK!?" Johanna turned her wrath on Rick.

Yet here she was, sitting in a taxi headed for Oscar's place. Her stomach was in knots and it was only because Oscar was holding her hand that she didn't bolt out of the taxi and make a run for it. Well, maybe she was exaggerating just a little, but she wanted to be here like she wanted a hole in her head. "You'll be fine. Where you go, I'll go with you, and we're only going to talk to a couple of banks about getting financing," Oscar tried to assure her. "And what are we going to do the other four days?" Johanna was sure she didn't need 5 whole days.

"For at least one of them you're going to help me look for a puppy, or maybe even two. I need someone to come home to, even if it is to a home filled with puppy pee pads," Oscar chuckled which got Johanna to look at him and feel a lot of her worries fade away. "I'd be honored to help you find a new friend." Johanna placed her free hand on his that was already holding hers.

Johanna was impressed when the taxi stopped out front of the Stella Tower on West 50th Street. He was on the 12th floor of the 16 story building and he had 12H which was a corner unit facing 51st street. It was 1,851 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.

"Let's get your bag in your room and I'll give you the tour," he offered though Johanna was already looking at the kitchen, living room, and what she was guessing was his office space. "This is my office that I use when I bring work home. You'll have to forgive the mess," he mentioned since it was a disaster. Floor plans, renderings, a computer with two screens, pictures tacked all over the walls. Reference books, magazines, and a filing cabinet filled to overflowing.

"The kitchen is in front of you. I didn't design this one so don't blame me if you don't like it," Oscar defended himself. "No, it's nice. Maybe a little small and not much counter space or cabinet space." Devizes cabinetry, solid European oak frames, polished concrete countertops, Miele appliances with the electric cook top in the middle of the island.

"The living room with floor to ceiling windows," he offered. There were only two of them but they were floor to 14 foot high ceiling tall. He had modern metal furniture, modern paintings on the wall. Wide plank oak flooring. Wood burning fireplace. Then he took her over to one of the windows and quickly found out that one of the panels was actually a door leading out onto a patio. It had a grill, seating for four, potted plants and... "Watch out for the land mines, I hadn't cleaned up for a couple of days before I came out to see you," he warned her. Johanna smiled, relieved that he was taking the loss of his dogs a little better.

"A half bath," Oscar pointed once they were back inside. "Your room with its own bathroom." It turned out her room was just a smaller version of his master bedroom.

Everything was modern. Modern low back chairs for a small sitting area in his room. Another concrete countertop with a single undermount lavatory. Black Zeus marble flooring, radiant floor heating, steam shower with glass enclosure, and a soaker tub with handles on the wall.

It certainly looked like him and there wasn't a single feminine thing in the place. She knew his wife was long since dead, but did he not have anyone else? Did he not date anyone? She had a hard time believing such a sweet man was alone.

"We can order take-out and have it delivered or we can venture out. We're in Hell's Kitchen so the Theatre District is close as is the Columbus Circle, even Central Park." Oscar offered. "Do you not cook?" Johanna asked not yet ready to be on the streets of New York again, and started opening cabinets. She found things to cook with, but very little to actually cook. "What do you eat?" In frustration she gave up opening cabinets and turned on him.

He stared at the floor in answer to her quesition. "You don't do you? A kitchen designer who can't cook?" she asked in amazement. "I gave up cooking after Eileen died. I mostly order in or grab take-out on my way home," he explained a little ashamed of himself. "Where's your phone book?" Johanna queried as Oscar opened a cabinet in the living room. She took it from him and sat down. "Phone!?" And she held out her hand 'til Oscar placed his cordless landline in it. He listened to her order groceries to be delivered. "You have 30 minutes if you want a $30 tip on top of your delivery charge, so get to it," she said then ended the call.

"I was right, you're going to make an excellent restaurant owner!" Oscar was still impressed with her. She was not afraid to take charge. "Now what kind of puppy are we looking for and where are we going to get one?" she asked, wanting to go puppy shopping. He was going to be happy again if it killed her.

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Johanna agreed to use her money to pay the $450 thousand needed for the first three months of operation meaning her loan was that much smaller and both she and Oscar loved the rate. Oscar, being Oscar, had even brought some small renderings of the interior and exterior for the bank to see, so they knew they were not loaning money to some fly by night shoestring budget restaurant wannabe.

Johanna had her loan.

Oscar had called the general contractor from the bank to get him out to the site as soon as possible, which was going to be in three days. The closest city where he could rent some of the bigger equipment he was going to need initially was in Rapid City, which meant towing it to Newcastle from there.

"Now, take me to the puppy place first on your list." Johanna had spent last night cleaning things out of his apartment that would remind him of his dogs. Which for her meant everything. So after getting the puppy they were going to have to go shopping to purchase everything it would need.

Johanna saw all of those little puppy eyes and was in love, but there was just one problem - a big one. Most, if not all, at this place were bigger dogs: Labradors, Retrievers, German Shepards, or very tiny dogs like Chihuahuas. On to the next store they went. She had her nose pressed up against the glass looking at the cutest little thing she had ever seen. He was mostly white with black eyes, a black nose, black ears, and black blob on his back. "Oh, he's so adorable." She soon had him in her arms, cooing at him, and kissing his fur. "What is he?" Johanna wasn't paying any attention to Oscar, she was deciding for him. "This little guy is a Coton de Tulear," she was told.

 _Cotons are happy-go-lucky dogs that are well-fit for living in small apartments. They are small in size, have easy to care for coats, exceedingly friendly with humans and other animals, and low exercise needs. The Coton loves to play fetch and go for walks, but won't suffer from being inside for a day either._

"His litter mate is over here," she was told and handed off the little guy to Oscar while she waited for the other one to be brought over.

Since they were in a pet store, they bought 3 beds, one for home and one for Oscar to take to work with him. Collars, leashes, puppy food, puppy toys, something for him to chew on instead of Oscar's shoes. The store had some boxes in back and they only just fit in the trunk of the taxi to get it all home.

Everything went into the apartment and then they were right back downstairs and headed to Oscar's veterinarian. "Oscar, I heard about Chili and Pepper and wanted to offer my condolences. They were such good dogs. …Now who are these two?" He took Oscar's dog out of his arms. "Well aren't you a happy little guy. I don't suppose they've given you a name yet?" He looked at Oscar who looked lost. "Mine's Patch," Johanna remarked and placed Patch on the table next to her litter mate.

The vet took what samples he could get, looked them over, and read the paperwork that came with them. He gave each of them a shot and gave them a card for when the next shot should be. "Patch and Mr. I-don't-know here are in good health. Come back in 2 weeks and we'll give them their next set of shots," the vet told them. "Oh, I don't live here. I'm flying home in a few days," Johanna informed him.

"In that case let me get you a health certificate. You will need to show it to the airline. Have you flown with a dog before?" The vet watched her shake her head. "You need to call the airline and tell them that you will be carrying you dog onboard. Buy her a carry-on pet carrier, one that will fit under the seat in front of you. Most airlines limit the number of pets that can fly in the cabin, so get that taken care of first thing. Show them your health certificate, fill out the form they give you, then pay the fee for her to fly which can be anywhere from $50 to $150. Your airline will be happy to take your money, and that's it," the vet told her.

Johanna actually called from the waiting room to book Patch a space on her flight while Oscar paid the vet for the visit. "One more thing, until they get their DHPP vaccine and rabies shots keep them away from adult dogs. DHPP stands for Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus. Parvo is the one virus that is very dangerous to puppies especially. Unfortunately it can live in the ground and on other items for years. If it's caught quickly enough we can stop it, but you only have a few hours before it's too late," the vet warned them.

"We'll watch them like a hawk. My neighbor has a pair of Dobermans that aren't even one yet," Johanna said. "Keep your puppy away from them and out of their home until her first shots. Likely nothing will happen, but let's play it safe," the vet advised sighed. That meant Rick, Alexis and their dogs couldn't come over for a while. Kate wasn't probably going to take that well. Especially since she had been smiling a lot and staying close to Rick ever since they got back from their trip.

Oscar laid out some puppy pee pads and let them play with each other. "Have you decided on a name yet?" he asked her, meaning the restaurant. Johanna nodded. "I had a whole list of names and finally settled on one, _**AFTER DARK**_.

"I like it. It's has a little mystery to it. You're only open for dinner for now and you still plan on shooting fireworks after every University of Wyoming victory I'm assuming?" Oscar asked her. "For now, every football and baseball victory. After that we'll see if I want to add other sports like basketball." Johanna still wasn't sure about that. "Men only or are you adding the women's teams?" He was betting even the women played baseball. She was ashamed of herself, she hadn't even thought about the women's teams. "Both." Johanna decided on the spur of the moment. "Home and away games?" he questioned and watched her nod. A win was a win.

They both had the same problem that night, neither puppy wanted to be left alone. Unbeknownst to each other, they reached down and lifted up their respective puppy into bed to sleep with them which kept them both quiet all night long.

Oscar did what he did with his dogs when he feared he didn't have the time to take them down the elevator. He took them outside onto his patio and cleaned everything up after them including what his dogs had left behind. He stayed out there with the puppies for a while, coming back inside to find Johanna in her pajamas cooking in his kitchen. The entire situation was tugging at his heart strings. What he really wanted to do was go kiss her. However he also knew that it would likely scare her off. Perhaps right out of his apartment into a hotel that took pets. He would bide his time. He had four more days and they already had the financing she needed.

"Come with me to the office? We need to start work on your restaurant's name. Get the billboard designs finalized; one for US85 and one for US16. Then make a few calls and get the name and logo on the information boards for your exit. Plus the office needs to meet these two," he added. His invitation forced Johanna to think about it. She honestly didn't want to go back out into the city again. Still, seeing where Oscar worked and taking his puppy in to meet everyone who worked there was appealing. Plus it was for her restaurant.

"Okay." Johanna hoped she didn't regret this.


	26. Chapter 26

**CH26**

Johanna was sitting in first class and had to have the flight attendant to touch her shoulder twice to snap her out of whatever she'd been thinking about so intensely. "I'm sorry what?" Johanna questioned.

"I'm going to have to ask you to put the dog back in the carrier and back under the seat," she told her. "I do that and she'll go back to crying and whining. She's just a puppy on her first flight. Do you really want all these first class passengers and all of the others within earshot mad at you? …NANCY!" Johanna said the name on her tag quite loudly. Johanna watched the looks on her face change every second it seemed. "Just keep the dog quiet," she relented and left Johanna alone. It allowed Johanna to keep stroking her puppy 'till it went to sleep as her mind drifted back and replayed the last 4 days.

She did have a problem getting to Oscar's office but was better once she was there. She picked up the old dog beds, water bowl, and food bowls and took them outside to the dumpster while Oscar was showing the new office mascot to everyone. Johanna missed most of the cooing along with the "He's so cute. Would you look at that face," remarks. As well as several "We're so sorry Oscar."

Johanna put the bed she had brought down along with the new water and food bowl. She also noticed that his office here looked a lot like the one at home. It was a mess! What she wanted to do was clean the place, but it wasn't hers and she didn't know what she could and couldn't throw out.

She got to see the billboard that they were planning. However as soon as they found out the name they scrapped one of them since it didn't fit the name. They needed a new theme for it. "Sorry." Johanna felt bad about that. "It's not a problem, we'll have a new one in no time," one of his staff told her. She also noticed that Oscar had no problem delegating what to do to others.

It was just after lunch as Johanna had eaten in his office while he was on the phone creating a list for her. It was locations in surrounding cities where she could have fresh produce trucked in every other day. Meat was also set up as every other day delivery. Coffee, tea, syrup bags, and carbonation for soda were once a week for now. Filters for the coffee, tea, ice machine, and steamers were scheduled for once a month. He also gave her a number to call to have her grease interceptor cleaned every 3 months as required by the local building authority.

"Is someone actually going to go down into this thing and clean it?" Johanna was shocked and thought whomever this guy was, he was nuts. She was perplexed as Oscar started laughing. "By cleaning I mean a guy in a truck with a big tank on the back is going to pull up next to it, pull the manhole covers off, drop a large hose down into it and suck our all the grease which will be floating on the top. Then he'll close it all back up, pack up his hose, and drive away. Your grease interceptor is now empty of grease, a product that the public works department hates having in their sewage treatment plants. They can actually fine you and order you to correct the problem if they find grease exiting your grease trap," he explained. "Oh, is the fix expensive?" Johanna questioned. "If we dig out the existing one and replace it, then yes, probably around $40 grand. But we have options that can cut that in half, but yes, it can be expensive," he admitted. "There really is a lot to owning and operating a restaurant." Johanna had to admit that she was a little anxious. "That's what you got me for. You have a problem, call me and I'll have it fixed," Oscar told her.

She spent the next 3 days in his apartment having dinner cooked for him when he got home. "I haven't had a home cooked meal waiting for me after I got home in years," he stated as he breathed in the smell. "I'm glad I could help." Oscar had done so much, she needed to do something. "You're spoiling me you know that," he pointed out. "I guess you'll just have to come back out to Newcastle again some time," Johanna offered, meaning come to her restaurant in her mind.

Three days later she had checked her bag and a large box that had all of her puppy paraphernalia inside it along with the name and address to a local veterinarian. She had Patch in her arms while saying goodbye to Oscar, thanking him for everything.

He decided to risk it. Johanna was going home and he didn't know when his next trip out there would be. Likely not until the contractor was done so he could make sure the contractor and his subs had done everything correctly and have him fix what he didn't.

"I know you'll do great and it's been amazing to have you here," he had told her then he kissed her. She had been shocked at first then she had kissed him back. What was worse was that she knew that if she didn't have Patch in her hands she would have wrapped her arms around him.

For the first time in a long while she didn't know what to say and had simply walked to the security area and went through that embarrassment. She had almost missed her flight until she heard the final boarding call. Even now she was zoned out as she replayed the kiss over and over again in her mind.

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Eric Vaughn had an excellent life as far as he was concerned. No wife or children to tie him down. He worked from home; he was rich and he was young. Well, considering his net worth, he was young. Mid 30s was still young as far as a lot of people were concerned.

Right now he was lounging in his pool that was out on his overly large patio located on the first of his three floor penthouse. A pergola covered it allowing a certain amount of shade, which was a good thing considering he lived in Miami Beach, Florida. In his case he lived in a penthouse that was 3 floors tall. Every column that held the pergola up had a speaker mounted to it along with a fan that was part of a misting system.

There were three bedrooms and three bathrooms with 4,661 square feet of space not including his huge patio and pool. All three floors had floor to ceiling windows. They all had curtains but he never closed them. There was no one around him that could see in, especially the windows that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. He had his own private foyer that was accessed via elevator that required a key and a code to reach. There were 2 emergency stairwells, one on each side. There was an internal elevator for his 3 floors as well as an expansive spiral staircase.

The patio had a casual seating area large enough for 8 people and an outdoor dining room table that could seat those same 8 people. The interior oval table also had room to seat eight.

He had a large library room filled wall to wall with books and seating for four with two small tables. His living room was the single largest room in the place. It had one wall of windows, wood floors laid down in a herringbone pattern. All of his furniture was considered modern with steel legs and steel arms with black cushions.

His kitchen wasn't huge by any standards, however, it did have excellent views of the ocean. The oven with large range top had an equally large overhead island hood. He could even grill indoors with it. Solid black solid surface countertops with white cabinetry that had a touch of beige. His large office space was off of the main dining room on the second floor and had seating for four guests. The theater room that seated six was right next to it on the same floor.

His master bedroom was large and had its own separate seating area that had a pass though fireplace. One entire wall was nothing but windows with drapes that had never been closed. The other two bedrooms were also on the third floor. His location also gave him a spectacular view of the beach of South Beach, especially when he used the telescope out on the patio that was powerful enough to determine the color of her eyes.

He was presently enjoying himself and was about to enjoy himself even more as his date for the day came out onto the patio naked to join him in the pool again. She was typical of the kind of women he liked. Early to late 20s, blonde, built perfectly, and extremely fit as well as beautiful. The best part about all his daily or weekly girlfriends was that Bullwinkle the Moose had more brains. He had hopes that this one would last the week at least since she didn't tire during sex and was a firecracker willing to do some seriously kinky things.

Carol wasted no time in slipping into the pool and started kissing him while trailing her fingers across his chest. When he started kissing her back enthusiastically enough she began stroking his penis to get him hard. It was then that the cell phone that was sitting on the side of the pool started to vibrate. He was forced to take her hand off of his now half erect penis. "I have to take this baby. Hold my place and don't move," Eric told her and reached for the phone as he got out of the pool.

"Yes." He walked away just as naked as she was. "Understood… What are the codes? …Yes I'll be here to sign for it. …Thank you, I won't let you down." He hung up the phone and went inside putting his cell phone down then walked into the kitchen and opened his wine cooler.

 _Krug Clos d'Ambonnay –_ _ **$2,701**_ _Made with Pinor Noir, Krug Clos d'Ambonnay_

Eric grabbed two glasses and walked back to the pool and the lovely naked woman waiting for him. "We're going to celebrate!" He held up the bottle and the glasses showing what they would be celebrating with. "I just secured the most fabulous deal in the history of the planet," he informed her which had her smiling. In her mind that meant he was going to spend even more money on her which suited her fine.

 **POP!** "You're going to remember this day for the rest of your life," he said gleefully. If he failed would likely mean she would die, too, but failure wasn't an option as far as he was concerned. Eric raised his glass. "To the demise of all shifters on the planet." He tapped her glass and drank. Carol had no idea what he was talking about. But for right now she was the only woman in his penthouse having sex with him in his pool with both of them naked, and after they finished this bottle she was going to fuck his brains out. Right now she smiled before drinking her glass.

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Rick was driving Kate to the airport in Rapid City to pick up her mother. "You're thinking awfully loud over there," he pointed out. He couldn't read her mind; they could only hear each other when one of them consciously talked to the other. "I'm just dying to hear what my mother says about her 5 days back in New York City. I know she fears the place now and if it wasn't for Oscar she would never have set foot in the city again," she remarked. "I doubt that Oscar would let her suffer. Except for the trip to the bank they may have never left his apartment," he said. **"RICK!"** She glared at him for what he said.

Rick was shocked by her response. What had he said? He replayed it in his head and the lightbulb lit up. "That's not what I meant, get your mind out of the gutter. Honestly!" He spared her a quick look since he was entering the airport area. _'Sorry,'_ Kate told him. "There," she pointed. Johanna was standing back from the curb just a little. Her suitcase was next to her and a large box was on the other side of her with a carry-on hanging on her shoulder. However it was the white fluff she was holding that had Kate's attention.

"What have you done Mom!?" she exclaimed as Rick pulled up next to her. Kate got out to give up her space up front. She picked up Johanna's suitcase and tossed it into the bed of the truck but decided to wait for Rick to lift the big box which turned out not to have the weight its size conveyed. "Mom?" she asked as they all secured their seatbelts. "This is Patch. Isn't she the most adorable, cutest thing you've ever seen?" Johanna gushed which had Kate's heart pounding. She hadn't heard her mother sound that excited in a long time.

"Oscar has a puppy just like her. We got both of them at a pet store. She's a Coton de Tulear." Johanna was having a little difficulty hanging onto her; Patch wanted to go see the big guy sitting next to her. "You got a puppy?" Kate said absolutely astounded. "I couldn't resist her Katie, just look at that face," Johanna stated and held up the puppy for Kate to see her face as Patch did her best to lick Johanna's face now that it was closer.

"Well, Alexis will be excited. Even Midas and Maggie might be happy to meet another puppy," Rick said. "Oh, we can't. The vet said not to have her interact with another dog until she's had all her shots. Something about parvo virus living forever. We have to wait another month before they can meet her." Johanna subconsciously held Patch close to her chest to protect her.

"Then Midas and Maggie will just have to wait," he stated. "Thank you for understanding Rick." Johanna put Patch back down in her lap. "Is that what the box is for?" Kate asked. "Yes, it has her bed, some food, toys, chew toys, pigs' ears, grooming tools, and other things. We went a little overboard at the pet store," Johanna said sheepishly.

"How was Oscar?" Rick asked concerned about his friend. "I think he'll be fine especially now that he has someone at home waiting for him," Johanna told him.

"How was New York?" Kate inquired anxious for her. "Busy, congested, loud, dirty, and uncomfortable. I'm glad to be gone," Johanna said in relief, which was sad in a way. She was born in New York City and it used to be her home. Now she couldn't wait to leave it.

"Did you go anywhere?" Kate questioned her. "Oscar talked me into taking the puppies with us into his office so the staff could see his new puppy. I told him the name I chose for the restaurant and he showed me the billboards they were planning. They scrapped one of them after I told them the name but they told me not to worry about it," Johanna explained. "Oh, the contractor should already be out here starting work, so can we please…" Rick interrupted her, "Drive by it so we can see? Of course." He wisely left off the DUH! comment.

He drove by the site slowly so all could see and then found a spot in the strip mall parking lot so they could get a little closer. They watched a bobcat come through where a wall had been removed and dump some debris into a dumpster. There was also a trailer in the parking lot that held all of the construction crew's tools along with a whole lot of other stuff. As they watched, a couple of guys were getting ready to close off one side of the street. "That must be for the increased water line since Oscar said the existing line was too small," Johanna remarked. They only stayed an hour to watch, however, just as they were leaving a flatbed truck showed up loaded with wood that looked like 2x6s. "They're probably to frame the new exterior walls," Johanna guessed.

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Eric rolled out of bed and picked up his cell phone. Now that he was in charge he needed some burner phones. He didn't want his face out there showing up on a security recording so he had someone else buy them for him. He just hadn't returned with them yet. "Yes," Eric answered. "I think we may have something. He's all alone except for his daughter who's only six," he was told. "Is she a shifter too?" Eric asked. "Unknown at this time. That he's one is also unknown, however our source has been in place for over a year. He has informed us that he has pictures of an SUV that has been heavily damaged. Part of that damage fits with it being ripped with bear claws," Eric was informed. "Anything on the owner of the damaged SUV?" Eric questioned. "Negative, it was owned by a dummy corporation that we have been unable to locate the owner of as yet. We're still working on it," Eric was told.

"Anything else from our source?" Eric questioned. "He has a new rookie that knows nothing. He's had her out in the north and south 40 doing nothing. He's going to have her enter the site he has questions about that's in his area. He plans on bringing her in for her 30 day review soon. He's betting that she's bored enough by now that her tongue will be lose. Plus she used to be a homicide detective. He has her in a piece of junk driving around doing nothing," Eric was told. "Meaning she'll be anxious to show off her skill set and sell out someone without even knowing it. Excellent, keep me informed. In the mean time I'll organize a small team to have the target monitored. I'll make sure they're set up with drones for surveillance. Keep me informed," Eric ordered.

He hung up his cell phone as he watched Carol, dressed in one of his dress shirts with just one button buttoned, give him a display. Eric walked over to her and used the shirt to pull her into him. He kissed her while he worked on the button. They'd already gone two rounds this morning, however, seeing her like this had him interested in round three.

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It had been two weeks since Johanna had returned from New York and Kate had noticed that she was still happy and cooing over Patch, who, Kate had to admit, really was a cute and happy puppy. Kate had also noticed that her mother was talking with Oscar every other day and while when she was close enough to hear her, it was about the restaurant and an update of how things were going.

However it was when Kate caught her unawares that the conversation was about other things. "I don't know Oscar, I'm sorry. It's just that I always thought that Jim was my one and done. I truly don't know how I feel about you kissing me," Johanna admitted which had Kate sucking in a breath and holding it so she could remain silent. "No, it meant a lot to me, I just don't know how to react to it," she informed him and listened for a minute. "No, I liked it, it was nice. Please Oscar, give me some time to think it through." Johanna listened for a few moments. "No, seeing you when you come out for a site visit would be nice. I'll have the spare bedroom ready for you." Johanna listened a little longer. She chuckled a bit. "Yes, I'll cook one of the items on the menu. Bye Oscar." She hung up the phone and Kate tippy toed backwards over to the stairs.

"Mom, I'm going over to Rick's today before I go back to work tomorrow," Kate called and headed for the door. "Have fun Katie. I have to take Patch into the vet for her next set of shots anyway. I'd join you but Patch isn't ready to see Midas and Maggie yet." Johanna felt bad about that. She hadn't seen either Rick or Alexis for 2 weeks because of Midas and Maggie and she was missing them.

Kate had been having withdrawals being away from Rick's arms. She was having trouble sleeping without him. "I'm in so much trouble." She hung her head. He had given her a key to his house yesterday after she got off work. She used it today to let herself in and found Rick and Alexis sitting at the coffee table playing a game. "Hi Midas, hi Maggie." She petted them at the door then closed and re-locked it. She headed for a smiling Alexis and a very happy Rick since he saw her carrying her overnight bag.

What Kate didn't see was the drone circling the house high above, nor the two man team that was guiding it.


	27. Chapter 27

**CH27**

Two weeks and two days later:

Johanna had come home from the vet 2 days ago where Patch had gotten her final booster shots at 12 weeks and her first rabies shot at 16 weeks, so she was good to meet Midas and Maggie now.

Right now Johanna was cooking dinner with Patch sitting practically on her foot waiting patiently for her taste. Patch had learned early that her owner was an easy mark for handouts of people food. Not that she got much, barely more than the tip of a pinky, still she knew she was going to get one.

Today was no different as Johanna placed a tiny bit on the tip of her finger and leaned down to let Patch lick it off her finger. Johanna heard the sound of a car door closing followed by two more. The sounds told her who was here. She had barely seen any of them in weeks because of Patch. It was also why she was cooking. Johanna was nervous as well. Nervous enough that she was just about ready to pass out or throw up. Oscar was scheduled to be here today.

Rick knocked and opened the door. The first ones in were Midas and Maggie who found Patch in no time. Their presence caused Patch to hide between Johanna's legs. She rescued her and lifted her up out of range of the two Dobermans. Then Johanna watched Oscar walk in with a suitcase in one hand and Thor in the other who didn't look upset or scared. Johanna, however, felt her heart pound. She hadn't felt anything like that in a really long time.

Oscar put Thor down and went to the guest room he had used last time he was here. Johanna noticed that Thor headed straight for Midas and Maggie and started barking at them 'til they began playing with him. "See Patch, that could be you. Just screw up your courage and go play." Johanna kissed her and put her back down on the floor. It was Thor who found her first and she seemed to recognize him. Play time, at least with Thor, was on. "Thor had a problem at first, too, so don't feel bad," Rick remarked to her, as they both watched Alexis chasing all four of them.

"I hope my home can survive this!" Johanna exclaimed since space was a little tight. It was enough room for a Coton de Tulear or two running around, just not for two Dobermans chasing them. "Alexis, take all the dogs outside so they can run," Rick called out. "And don't let Thor or Patch out of your sight. Don't let anything happen to them."

Oscar arrived just as the front door slammed closed. "How are you Jo?" he asked and gave her a quick hug. They had talked a lot since she had been in New York and Oscar had started calling her Jo, just like her husband Jim had done. At first she had a problem with it, but she had kept her mouth closed and hadn't told Oscar. Now she found that she kind of liked it. "I'm fine, you should see the restaurant. It's only been 3 weeks but it looks like they have done a lot." Johanna actually saw some changes. The place was still a huge mess, but it was her mess.

"That's why I'm here. They have saw cut the floor and the plumber has installed the below slab piping. The local inspector is supposed to come out and inspect it today allowing the general contractor to pour the floor tomorrow. A few days after that and he can start putting up interior walls as he finishes with the new roof," Oscar explained.

"Does that mean they will enclose everything soon?" Johanna meant put in windows.

"Close, first comes the Green Guard® insulated board followed by Green Guard® building wrap. After that's installed comes the wrap that's installed around the window openings. It actually has a sticky back to it and is next followed by the windows. All of this is meant to keep the weather out. The one-inch board gives us another 5 R-value making the building that much more energy efficient," he said. "With the probability for nasty winters you'll be happy to have it."

"I don't know how I'm going to thank you for all that you have done." Johanna owed him and she knew it. Sure he was getting paid to do this, and she had a good idea by whom, but still she owed him. As for who had bought the building, the land it was on, and all of Oscar's hard work, she would handle him later. That was, of course, after she was certain her daughter was in love with him.

"I'm happy to be here," Oscar admitted while looking at Johanna who turned for the kitchen to hide her blush. "We need your portfolio case," Rick suddenly remembered. "Be right back," he told them and went outside.

"You brought something?" Johanna asked as she tended to their dinner. "I brought several things actually, along with a few papers I need you to read and sign. I'll walk you through them and you can sign after you read them. It should be easy for you, since you used to be a lawyer. Speaking of being a lawyer, do you still plan on being a lawyer broker?" Oscar questioned her and followed her into the kitchen, even though he knew she would eventually shoo him out of her domain.

"Eventually yes, I just need to find lawyers who will agree to this plan. I intend on starting that search soon," Johanna told him. "This town is about to find out how lucky they are to have you as a resident," he remarked.

Johanna felt his hands spin her in place since she had her back to him and her heart throbbed hard enough to burst out of her chest. She wanted him to and was scared to death that he would. Plus just what would she do if he didn't. Her questions were answered when she found herself in his arms as he kissed her. Johanna wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss. Unlike the last kiss which was fast and all lips, this kiss was far more soul-searching. Oscar was stroking her bottom lip asking for entrance. Johanna didn't have the will to stop him and soon the kiss was deepened as a battle of tongues began.

"Bring the puppies indoors now Alexis," Rick called just outside the door. Johanna broke from the kiss, quickly removed her arms, and then took a step back as her blush at almost being caught started up her neck. Oscar, however, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before leaving her kitchen.

Both of them soon heard Rick, Alexis, and the dogs enter the house with Rick closing the door. Oscar took his portfolio case and lifted it up a little. "We'll go over this after Kate gets home and after we have dinner," he announced since he had a number of things to tell them and show them.

' _Where are you Kate?'_ Rick asked. _'I'm on US16 roughly 30 minutes outside of town. Give me about an hour and I'll be there. I'll need time to shower and change though,'_ she replied. _'Anything eventful happen today?'_ he questioned knowing that most of her days were really boring for her. _'Just another mind-numbing day in the car,'_ Kate confirmed. _'I brought my laptop with me. You've got something from your friend Esposito. It's a big file,'_ he informed her. _'YES! Good thing I have the next three days off,'_ Kate responded. She knew she owed Espo for this, she just had to figure out how to pay him back for his efforts on her behalf.

Kate walked in through the front door an hour later. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized as she closed the door and petted Midas and Maggie when they showed up. It was the two really little ones that came with them that surprised her. She bent down to pet Patch who had wormed her way into Kate's heart, too, just not as deeply as she had into her mother's. "Mother, what have you done now?" Kate picked up Thor who did his best to try and lick her face clean.

"That's Thor," her mother told her. "Thor?" Kate held him up to look him in the face. "Welcome to the zoo Thor." She set him back down on the floor and started for the stairs. She passed by Rick who was sitting in a chair, stopped for a moment then kissed the top of his head.

' _Hi babe!'_ Kate continued on for the stairs only to see Oscar step out of the downstairs guest room. "Oscar!? Mom didn't tell me you were coming out today." She wasn't sure just what to make of his being here or her mother's silence.

"I have a number of things to go over with Johanna and you and thought it would be better for you to see it, so here I am." He spread his arms wide.

"Let me shower, get this road dirt off of me, and into some clean clothes then I'll be right down," Kate said and headed up the stairs only to have Maggie rush past her and wait for her at the top. "You are not taking a shower with me Maggie," she informed her, however Maggie stayed long enough for Kate to turn on the shower. Since she didn't want another bath she ran back downstairs as Kate stripped her uniform off and put all her stuff away.

Today's dinner was chili, cornbread, and a fresh green salad. The chili had been simmering low and slow for hours and could be served almost anytime. Johanna put the salad together while Kate was in the shower.

Oscar had everyone's attention after dinner when he pulled his portfolio out. "I have some boards for you to look at. As Johanna knows, there will be two billboards, one on US85 and one on US16. The one on US85 will be south of town where the northbound traffic will see it," he told them and pulled out a board and held it upright while resting it on the dining room table. It had the name of the restaurant and which exit to take. There were fireworks bursting across the top and had one of the exterior renderings that Oscar and his staff had created which Johanna had already seen once.

"The other billboard is on US16 just outside of town and the eastbound traffic will see it," he explained and pulled out the next board. It also had the name of the restaurant and which exit to take. Like the other one there were fireworks bursting across the top. This time the rendering was of the inside which showed a number of pictures of Yellowstone along with one of the two fireplaces.

Oscar pulled out some paperwork. "If you approve, I need your signature on these so I can order the sign company to start work on what they need to put up on the billboards," he explained. "Cut a check and I will send it along with the order form. Remember to keep receipts for tax purposes," he advised her. He got the okay from everyone save Alexis, who asked a simple question. "No cookies?"

That had him on his phone to his office to have her specialty cookies included in some way after reminding them to look at the menu to see the names of the cookies. "They'll email me a new billboard the day after tomorrow for us to view," he informed them. It all earned Alexis a kiss. "Thank you sweetie," Johanna told her and watched Alexis blush a little.

"Next is what we have for what your menu will look like." Oscar pulled out several mock-ups and handed one to each of them, including Alexis. "As typical it has the name of your restaurant, list of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts. There is a separate list showing just the desserts including your extensive cookie list. There will paper handouts up front with a list of your cookies and their cost. As you will notice, each item has a brief description of what is included in that item and of course, the cost to purchase it," Oscar said to them.

"This is the wine list which will be separate from the menu with cost per bottle and cost per glass." Oscar took out another set of papers and handed one to everyone including Alexis. "I've considered adding beer to the list as bottles only, no draft beers. However, I'm thinking of letting you be open for a few months before revisiting this item. We'll make room in one of the reach-ins for it if it is decided to add a few. If you do add beers I would suggest micro-brews only made in Wyoming, Montana, or perhaps South Dakota," he advised.

"There's one more thing to do while I'm out here. We need to go down to the local high school and talk to the teachers to find out if there are any good culinary students. We need to start offering jobs locally and beyond, including nationally. There are people all over the country looking for a job. A few might be willing to relocate for a good position. Here's the list with average salaries for a restaurant of your size." He handed over another list including one for Alexis. It was then that Johanna caught on to what he was doing and it warmed her heart which made her that much more confused.

Restaurant cooks - $15,120 to $30,270 (Average of $21,960)

Restaurant dishwashers - $13,640 to $21,580 (Average of $17,060)

Restaurant hosts/hostesses - $13,610 to $23,580 (Average of $17,770)

Wait Staff - $13,120 to $28,180 (Average of $18,570)

"None of these salary rates include tips which typically go 100% to the wait staff, though it's not unknown for the staff to receive a portion of each tip. That's up to you if you want to do that or not."

"I suggest that you offer the average to the cooks and somewhere between the lowest rate and the average for everyone else. At the end of 90 days you can have a review with each of your employees and give them raises based on their work for the previous 90 days. Most raises take place annually, so every July 4th, if we make that date, your employees can expect a review of their work and a raise based on the work they do," Oscar suggested.

"Sometime in the future you may decide that you need or want a restaurant manager whose salary would be $28,240 to $74,060 (Average of $48,660). Also most restaurant workers can expect to receive a deep discount on a single meal each day. Every employee is required to give you notice that they intend to quit as well as for vacation days. However none of them get paid for vacation or sick days."

"You will be small enough that you will not be required to provide medical coverage, though I would suggest that you at least look into providing an HSA account. Essentially it's a credit card that's used exclusively for medical reasons. You can provide a small amount annually and have your employees add money per paycheck and let it build up when they don't use it. Since most restaurants don't offer anything at all, you will stand out in the industry."

"A 401k is the next item to talk about. Offer one to each employee and offer to take out a small percentage each paycheck that you will match up to a maximum. Say 2% to start with and adjust from there based on whatever criteria you decide to use. How long have they been with you? What they do for you and the restaurant? How often they have been employee of the month? Something else entirely." Oscar finished what was on the last sheet of paper.

"One last thing and that's it. This is a rendering of what the shirt you will be providing for each and every employee will look like." Oscar pulled those out and handed one to everyone including Alexis again. "Your employees will have to provide their own black pants, black belt, and black shoes. Loosely tied ties that vary in color matching the bursts of the fireworks might be nice for both men and women are suggested but not required. Those would be something else you would provide as you can see them on your rendering," he told them.

It was a simple black button down shirt with a single pocket that had the name AFTER DARK in silver script just above the pocket with a burst of three fireworks overlapping each other a little on the pocket.

"This is Wyoming so it shouldn't be too hard to get the fireworks you'll need. Though you could buy a very large amount and store them at home and drive them into the restaurant on game days in anticipation on getting a win. The TVs that you'll have hanging in the receptionist area could be used to keep track of each home game that is being played or is a tape delay that is connected to your system," Oscar explained. "Shoot off however much you want for each win. I would suggest a minimum of 4 boxes that have 12 tubes, more if you so decide. Maybe they beat a hated rival and you want to shoot off twice that number." He shrugged his shoulders. It was just an idea.

"Also your utility costs monthly including Internet and phone are expected to be between $2,500 and $4,000. Those costs have already been included in your costs of the first 3 months of operation. Most of your costs will be nothing to worry about. The first three months you are open, especially after you spend $15 thousand for your grand opening, will be nothing since it will be the busiest you can ever expect to be in most cases."

"Your job is to provide good food that the locals are willing to pay for. You keep them happy and you can expect to be successful." Oscar was done since he had nothing else.

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She had just finished putting the money she had earned in her overseas bank account, which was a good thing since she had her eyes on a server expansion that she would love to connect to her existing system.

She was especially glad that she had a few connections in the right place. It took some serious greasing of palms to get those spy satellites into orbit. People paid a lot of money for what she could provide.

The latest one had earned her a cool $152 million. Granted it had taken her a few weeks of surveillance and a little help from her friends, but she had dedicated her life to helping them and she didn't ask for help all that often.

She plopped down in her all too comfortable chair, glad to be home. Her home was a one of a kind and had some serious out of the box thinking put into it. It was amazing what some of these kids could think up. The roof was made up of twenty soft arches that overlapped that kind of resembled the shape of a commercial airplane. Each overlapped the other providing a number of clearstories that in her case were attached to an automated comfort A/C control system. It was these clearstories that helped to keep her home cool causing the A/C system to work only sparingly which was usually only on the hottest of days.

Each of the arches was covered in solar power panels that kept her completely off the grid. It didn't hurt that her home had one amazing view, since it was high up in one of the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona. Her floor was actually the rock of the mountain as were several of the walls. She was especially proud of the beams that supported everything. She was amazed how the structural engineer had managed to make the beam(s) that held up her roof one long continuous twisting laminated beam that was dark brown in color.

She had a really long uninterrupted rock deck that overlooked the beautiful Sedona desert. It had seating the entire length. The living room had a massive fireplace with a copper face reaching up to the ceiling. The extra-large base had her one and only TV sitting on it next to the fire pit. Her sofa was even reddish leather that almost matched the color of the mountain she was in.

The very center of the home was the **pièce de résistance** of the entire home. It was the central core of the computer that she used to protect her friends and their friends who in turn had friends.

You needed a DNA sample, hand print, and a coded spoken word to gain access to her. What no one, not even her friends, had ever guessed was that the lighted fins extending out from her central core at the ceiling were the cooling fins to keep her cool actually looked like an architectural feature. It truly was a special look.

Her master bedroom was on the second floor just under several of the clearstories. It was round with a king-sized bed that had book shelves filled with books all along one side that actually looked out over the rest of her home. There was a single red leather sofa built into the low wall. Her house had 5 bedrooms and 5-1/2 bathrooms. Every bedroom was utilized by her friends and staff. Her home was well defended thanks to them who just also happened to be her very best friends on the planet.

She also felt a little like that stupid animated TV show that was made into a movie that likely lost money. _THUNDERBIRDS_

She had only just returned using her very own V-22 Osprey that she knew how to fly with great precision. She pressed a button that sent out a coded signal that retracted the hard tarp that had a lattice support structure under it that separated and allowed her to land on her underground landing pad. It closed back up at the touch of a button. It was painted perfectly to mimic the rock that surrounded it.

From there she walked underground to her home. "Serena, it's good to have you home. How did your mission go?" Joanne Delgado asked her. Serena had happily taken her in after her mother had been brutally murdered. Joanne had willingly given Serena the money she had gotten from the insurance company and her mother's life insurance. Now she was one of Serena Kaye's best friends as well as her lover.

"It went perfectly." Serena handed her the deposit receipt of the $152 million. "Anything happen while I was gone?" Serena hated leaving Joanna in charge but they needed the money if they were going to keep doing what they have been doing.

"Carol checked in using the scrambler phone we gave her," Joanne told her as she followed Serena to their room and watched her strip off her clothes in anticipation of taking a much needed shower. "And?" she asked. "She's in position and is presently Eric Vaughn's lover of the week or month if we're lucky," Joanne said. Serena wasn't sure how Carol managed to do what she was doing. Serena had learned over the years; a mountain lion shifter like Joanne was capable of a lot of things, .

They weren't bonded life mates, still they loved each other with a passion that was unrivaled except for those that were. "She reported that she's now convinced that Eric has been given the job of overseeing the entire Paladin network after the removal of Sophia Turner," Joanne told her. "Also she overheard that he has ordered surveillance to begin using drones to watch someone who has a 6-year-old little girl."

"Does she know who he's watching?" Serena needed to make arrangements because of this. "Unfortunately no, she's still trying to determine who this person is. Still she does know that the closest airport for them to fly into with the equipment they needed was Casper, Wyoming," Joanne informed her as a naked Serena stepped into the open shower. "Wyoming? A single person with a 6-year-old girl? We need to do some research. It doesn't sound like it's the Jackson Hunt Kodiak Bear community, but it _is_ a little close for comfort."

Serena paused to think while she continued washing. "Are the others in the house?" she asked her. Joanne shook her head. "They're all out visiting family in the surrounding mountain lion community. They aren't due back until tomorrow," Joanne said. That had Serena smiling widely. "You mean we have the house all to ourselves?" Serena suddenly liked this turn of events. "Care to join me for a shower and a few hours in our bed after that?" She had an idea and soon watched as Joanne took off her clothes and stepped into Serena's arms which were the arms of her lover. Tonight was going to be a lot of fun as Joanne was certain she would be growling out a large number of orgasms.

Serena may be human but she knew just how to please her lover and her lover, her.


	28. Chapter 28

**CH28**

Serena Kaye stretched out while still in bed lying next to the love of her life. How Joanne had stolen her heart had her chuckling softly so as not to wake her. Here she was a thief that stole works of art mostly from rich people to sell it to other rich people.

It was even comical! She had, at one time, stolen the very same piece from whom she sold it to so she could sell it to another person that wanted it. Her honest job was getting art back for the museum or owner that had allowed a museum to display it. She charged 10% of the real market value of the item. She used all of the money to have her home built and to have housing built for her friends who just happened to be mountain lion shifters.

She also used it to help other shifters. Yes, missing the attack on the polar bear community had been something that they couldn't prevent. Serena had found out about the attack too late to do anything about it. The loss had affected all of them greatly. Still they had found a new place for the remaining polar bears from that community to relocate to. They had also helped them set up the ambush on Coonan and Josh's team.

The equipment that Paladin had provided their team that was now theirs was simply icing on the cake. It had taken Sarah to explain what the weapons they had found in the trucks were, as well as the long distance communication equipment that had a scrambler.

Even today that very same group was almost done setting up their new community and the communication equipment they now had allowed them to talk with Sarah whenever they chose.

Serena extracted herself from her lover's arms and put on a pair of panties, leggings and an oversize top that fell off her shoulder, then went downstairs headed for the kitchen.

Serena stopped at Sarah who was the computer in the center core and pressed the panel. "Anything on who this single person with a 6-year-old could be?" Serena asked her.

"Negative, however I am still searching. It is likely this person is using a fake name to hide behind. Wyoming narrows the search pattern considerably. The first satellite to be in position will be in...32 minutes and 16 seconds…mark," Sarah answered.

"I'll be in the kitchen eating. When the satellite's in place alert me and put the visual on the TV in the living room," Serena requested. "Acknowledged," Sarah responded.

Sarah wasn't a true AI anymore than Watson, that IBM had made, was a true AI. Sarah was simply a little better than Watson, but nobody told her that. She thought she was light years above Watson who was still in the Stone Age compared to her.

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This was the part that Johanna was the most unsure about. Hiring people and likely firing people later or simply losing them because they had chosen to move on.

They had timed their visit perfectly, it was just before class and they got a chance to talk to the teacher. She sounded happy with what Johanna was doing and was actually dying to find out what Johanna would be cooking. "You want to hire some of my students?" She tried to comprehend what Johanna was asking. "As cooks, dishwashers, hosts or hostesses or even wait staff. If they have an interest in learning how a real restaurant works and get paid for it, yes," Johanna confirmed.

"If you have at least three kids who would like to cook and get paid that would be great. We'll give you the menu and Johanna can come in and teach them alongside you so they learn how to make the items on the menu. Be it just the appetizers, soups or desserts."

"Maybe they want to work with the general public and be a host that greets the customers and seats them. They will learn how long it takes to eat a meal and what to tell people regarding how long they will have to wait," Oscar offered.

"Let me teach my class and I'll discuss it before the end of the class then call you in so you can pitch your offer directly to them," she offered. Johanna and Oscar accepted.

The class was normally an hour, however, she stopped teaching after only 40 minutes. "I have two people that want to talk with each of you. Nancy, Mark, Jerry, and Shawn, you four will probably want to listen closely to what they have to say." She singled out the 4 of them, went to the door, and called Johanna and Oscar in.

"Hi, I'm not actually sure how… My name is Johanna Beckett and this is my friend and architect Oscar Lehman. I'm renovating the abandoned Wendys® down the road and turning it into a working restaurant. Some of you have probably seen the construction."

"What I want is to hire some of you. Be cooks to help me cook the items on the menu, be hosts or hostesses, dishwashers, bus boys, or wait staff. Each of you would be paid to do this. The restaurant is only open for dinner so it will not interfere with your school work," Johanna informed them and heard a soft "Rats" from someone. "Sorry," Johanna chuckled.

"You will be given a small amount of medical coverage, at least until it becomes too expensive to offer. There will also be a 401k account for each of you. You will select how much of your pay you want to go into each of these accounts. I will match it for free up to 2% of your gross pay for the 401k. I guess what I'm really offering you is the chance to learn how a restaurant works and get paid for it. In turn I get the use of what your teacher has taught you," Johanna said after telling them her offer.

"There are people who pay to go to culinary school and pay thousands for the privilege. Johanna here is offering each of you hands-on experience while paying you to learn. She is risking her future while at the same time offering you the experience of a lifetime. She is trusting that you know what you are doing and are willing to learn while on the job and get paid for it."

"This is the listing of each job and the amount of pay associated with each. This is the information you will need to read concerning the medical coverage and what is included and what isn't. While this is the information you will need to read to understand how your 401k works."

"Finally this is the form you will need your parents to read and sign allowing you to work for her. If any of you are 18 years old or older," and he doubted it, "you do not need their signature. However I would suggest that you still give it to them to read and sign anyway." Oscar started handing out papers based on what each kid did or did not say.

"Take all of this home with you and talk with your parents. Use the number listed to ask any questions you may have. That includes your parents which I'm sure will have plenty, not the least of which will be one you have to answer. Are you willing to commit to this job? Spend your evenings working and making a wage while learning instead of messing around with your friends."

"Not that you won't have ANY time to do just that. While the restaurant is presently scheduled to be open 6 days a week, there will be enough jobs that you will not be required to work each and every day of the week that it is open. You will not be giving up everything for this job. You can still be you."

"Oh, one more thing. There is a dress code. You will each be provided with one or more dress shirts that will have the name and logo on it. It is black and you will be required to provide your own black pants and black shoes. Do try to select shoes that have skid-resistant soles."

"I'm sure everyone would like to prevent the embarrassment of dropping some table's order all over the floor, having plates break, and a mess that you get to clean up. Your peers, I'm sure, will be only too happy to remind you about it for the next few weeks should it happen," Oscar informed them, which got some of them to start laughing.

"Please take home the information and talk to your parents. I'm offering you the possibility to show the residents of Newcastle, as well as people who stop here while driving through town, that you do in fact know how to cook and learn parts of a restaurant that you won't learn here."

"You'll be making money that your friends or classmates won't have. Slip on the ice and break your arm and you'll have medical coverage. At least a little anyway. Is there something that you desperately have to have but your parents won't or can't buy for you? Buy it yourself provided they approve. Use the money to help your family. Save up for college. Didn't think you could afford it? Maybe, just maybe, now you can. You may still need a job while in school, but this money may be just what you need. Everyone has dreams but are not sure how to achieve them. This may or may not be what you were looking for, but didn't know it."

"Think it over and let me know. I'm offering these jobs to you before I offer them to the rest of the town and the country. If not enough of you accept the offer I will fill them where I can," Johanna told them then thanked the teacher for the time as she and Oscar left just as the bell rang for the end of the class.

"What do you think?" she asked Oscar as he drove her to the construction site so they could take a quick look. "Hard to tell. If you get half of what you need, count your blessings. We need to get the job offers out to everyone else next week. You need your employees hired and ready to go when those doors open," he warned her while she nodded in agreement.

She needed 10 wait staff, 3 bus boys, 3 hosts or hostesses, 5 additional cooks plus herself, 2 dishwashers and 1 expeditor. The expeditor would likely be another adult who would work each of the 6 days just like Johanna would be doing. The others would have an extra day or two off as they cycled through their work schedule.

The expeditor's job was to review the incoming orders on the point of sale (POS) screen and verify that each order was taken care of and observe how long it took between the order and being served. Request this or that if it was taking too long. As well as handle what orders came back because the customer was unhappy for some reason.

Oscar pulled into the parking lot. "Looks like we're making progress," he announced, pleased with what he saw. To Johanna, however, things looked worse than last time. "You're sure?" She made a face as she questioned him while staring out of her Jeep.

He started laughing. To him it looked like they were doing great. The expansion had walls and most of the roof, the existing exterior walls were mostly scrubbed down to the studs and the Green board was going up. The roofer would be out soon to finish work on the roof. As soon as the windows were in the contractor would divide his time between inside and outside. The new A/C unit would show up and be lifted up onto the roof using a crane.

They needed the chimneys made out of stone to be started soon. Yeah, they were doing great. A little over 2 months at this pace and they would be open. "Yes, we're doing great. How about we go home and look to see if my staff has finished adding cookies to your billboards?" He started the car when she started smiling.

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Kate drove home to find no one was home and went upstairs to pack her overnight bag. Along the way she took a peek at the sleeping forms of Patch and Thor. Seeing him told her that Oscar was still here. She raced back downstairs and drove her stupid hunk of junk across the highway to Rick's house.

Since she had a key, she used it to get inside and relocked the door just as Midas and Maggie showed up to be petted. She found Alexis in the living room working on a puzzle at the coffee table. She dropped her bag at the stairs. "Hi Kate!" Alexis was happy to see her.

"Hi Alexis." Kate bent down to kiss the top of her head. "That's a lot of puzzle you have there." She hadn't gotten very far and it really was a lot of little pieces for a 6-year-old child. Just what was Rick thinking? "How about I help you with that right after I talk to your father, take a shower, and change clothes," Kate offered which got a smile from Alexis. "Okay." She was happy to have Kate close.

Since Kate could smell cooking she walked into the kitchen. "Honey, I'm home," she teased since it was a clear role reversal. "My own personal comic deputy sheriff. How ever did I get so lucky?" Rick dead panned, teasing her back.

She stepped into Rick's embrace and melted the second he wrapped his arms around her. The stress of the day drifted away; she was becoming very thankful for what he could do. She lifted her face and kissed him. "Have I mentioned how hot I find a woman in uniform? Especially if I get to remove said uniform." He arched his eyebrows a couple of times, earning a short giggle from her. "Maybe another time. I need to shower first. …And no you can't join me, because if you burn our dinner because you are in the shower with me, Alexis and I will be very cross with you." Kate cut him off at the pass.

"Fine, have it your way little miss boring." He gave her a quick kiss. "Another monotonous drive I take it?" Rick asked, Kate still in his arms. "You should know, you talked to me like every half hour all day long." She was exaggerating a little, but this being able to hear the others thoughts was proving to have its uses.

"I did no such thing," he countered. "It was more like every couple of hours at best," he offered up what he remembered. "And since the clock in my car is about the only thing that works properly, it was every hour on the hour and you know it. I'm going to go take my shower now." She lifted up to kiss him again. "And do _not_ burn our dinner," she called over her shoulder on the way out. Rick sighed heavily as he went back to his cooking. Yeah, he was in love alright. He was in deep and he wanted it to stay that way.

Kate finally felt clean after driving all day. Now dressed in leggings and an oversized t-shirt that exposed the straps of her sea foam colored bra, she sat down on the floor next Alexis and kissed her cheek. "Now let's see what we can do with this puzzle of yours," she offered and began selecting pieces.

They were still working on it an hour later, though they were making progress. "Dinner is almost ready. Pumpkin, take Midas and Maggie outside so they can do their thing," Rick called out. "Okay Dad." And Alexis left Kate behind as she took the dogs outside. Kate walked into the kitchen. "So what are we eating tonight?" she inquired as she poked her head in to see what he had taken out of the oven.

"Bolognese lasagne," she was informed which immediately had her stomach growling and Rick chuckling. That earned him a light swat to his arm. "You've been talking to my mother behind my back. I LOVE LASAGNE!" she told him, not that Rick knew that 'til now. He gave her a quick kiss. "Good! Now go wash and make sure Alexis does too, please," he requested and started setting the dining room table so they could eat.

Kate soon dropped her fork and leaned back in her chair. She was amused when Alexis did the same. "I'm stuffed. I eat another bite and I'll blow," she announced, getting a "Me too," from Alexis that had Kate smiling.

"Does that mean you don't have any room left for ice cream?" Rick teased them. Kate opened her mouth and then closed it again. Ice cream sounded good, but she meant what she said. "No thanks. I need to watch my figure," she replied. "You keep that figure and I'll keep watching," he announced. ' _Is that all you're going to do? Watch?'_ she taunted him. _'I believe I'll eat my dessert later tonight,'_ he said and had Kate smiling. "How about we take the dogs for a walk and work this off?" he suggested and started cleaning up with Kate's and Alexis's help.

Alexis was off running with the dogs while Kate was content to hang onto Rick's arm as they walked out into his little valley. "I wonder what Espo found," she mused. "He's dirty Kate, I can feel it." He reminded her of his opinion. "I hope not, because if he is, that means I'm investigating my boss," she commented. "Who has a homicide detective out driving a car, doing nothing? No one just wastes that kind of talent for no reason." He continued his argument.

"I'm not arguing Rick, I'm just stating that he is my boss. However you're right. I'm still surprised that he has me in a patrol car. Granted Weston County isn't the murder capital of the state and sitting in a car all day is a little hard to take. But there has to be something I could be doing that puts my skills to better use." She really wanted to see what Espo had sent her.

When they had returned to the house Rick opened up his laptop and handed it off to her. "See what he sent you. I'm going to give Alexis a bath and put her to bed then be down to help you," he said.

"Night Kate. Will you be here in the morning again?" Alexis asked innocently. Of course Alexis had noticed the other times she had spent the night here. Kate knelt down to hug her. "Good night sweetheart, and yes, I'll be here in the morning when you get up. I'll even make pancakes for you. How would that be?" she offered and got a hug in return.

Kate opened the file and the first thing she saw was a Word document titled "Read me first" so she opened it.

 _Hi Girlfriend,_ Kate saw at the top. "Of course Espo would tell Lanie, what was I thinking?" She rolled her eyes.

 _First things first. Who is Rick Rodgers and how well do you know him? I expect a phone call immediately after you receive this and I want details girl, every juicy bit. Just because you moved to Wyoming, don't think I won't fly out there and slap you. Someone needs to keep you on the right road._

 _J_ _avi_ _shared what you asked of him and you'll find what medical records I could find on your guy also. If the words get too big for you, you have a phone and know how to use it._

 _Now for the good news._ _Javi_ _, Ryan and I put in for a few days off and when Montgomery approves_ _them,_ _we're flying out to see you. I'm told you really are out in the middle of nowhere and the closest airport is 1-1/2 hours away._

 _We'll send you our information including what motel we'll be staying at in your little town. I'm dying to_ _meet_ _this Rick of yours. Please honey_ _,_ _don't do something stupid and lose him. You deserve to be happy._

 _I'm bringing my camera!_

 _Lanie_

"I don't think I can do something stupid Lanie, he's my life mate," she said to herself. "GOD! How am I going to explain that?" she moaned and closed her letter. _'Just tell them you love him.'_ Her stupid voice that had actually be quiet for a while made its presence known.

Kate opened the phone records that Espo had managed to get, not wanting to know how he did that. She started using a highlighter app that was part of the file to highlight certain calls that seemed to be recurring.

She opened a new email and began writing questions for Espo to look into.

"He got his bank records?" She was shocked. However she soon realized that they were the bank records for the Weston County Sheriff's Office as a whole. "Where is the brand new Ford Explorer he's driving?" She talked to herself while searching.

She opened another file that told her where his residence was located. She used Google Maps to see it from a satellite view. Kate didn't think the house itself was anything. If anything it was actually smaller than hers.

Kate opened another file that listed his personal property. "Hm, he has a 1999 Winnebago motorhome, a 1995 20 foot Caravelle fish and skiing boat, two 1995 Yamaha Warrior 350 quads. …Hm what did you do back in 1995?" she wondered.

She opened file that turned out to be a complete history of every job he had ever had. "You made sheriff in 1995 and have been sheriff ever since. You were re-elected in 1999 after serving your first 4 year term, which puts you about half way into your second term," she said to herself.

She opened yet another file. "Interesting. This says your expected average pay should be a fraction over $100 grand, and yet you are married with 2 sons, one of whom is almost college age." That information had her back on Google again. "Undergraduate tuition for a Wyoming resident is $1,080 plus fees for one year. Not including housing, books, and other items. Doesn't sound that bad," Kate commented and opened another file.

"Airline tickets for four to Germany last year for a week's stay in a hotel in Munich. The year before it was a week in Ireland, and the year before that was a week in Paris. The year previous to the Paris trip was a week in Hawaii. Just where the hell did you get that kind of money?" she murmured.

"How's it coming? Find anything yet?" Rick asked and noticed that she was grinning.


	29. Chapter 29

**CH29**

Kate spent two days and two nights in Rick's bed and loved every second of it. She had had lovers before but making love with Rick was so peaceful and exciting, not to mention that she had already had more orgasms in the time she had been his life mate than she had ever dreamed she would ever have.

It took every ounce of energy she had just to extract herself from his arms in the morning and walk into the bathroom only to have Rick fuck her while standing up in the shower.

Last night had been different though. She had brought some bath salts and oils with her and had filled his tub with nice hot water. She poured in her salts and oils then slid into the tub slowly, loving it. Once she was good and relaxed she turned on the jets and leaned back. A few of them hit all the right spots.

"Want some company?" a naked Rick standing next to the tub asked her. "Sure." And she scooted forward so he could slip in behind her. Soon she had her back pressed into his chest and he had his arms wrapped around her. It was a wet bear hug that had her melting into him yet again. That was until his hands started roaming across her body, starting with her breasts. Her nipples were hard and it felt so good as she felt a hand work its way down to her core where his fingers started exploring. "Rick?"

His fingers were just finishing bringing her to her second orgasm when he moved her so that one of the jets was striking her outer lips and soon her clitoris. The constant soft pressure soon brought her to a quick orgasm. Yet all he did was push her in closer.

She had no idea how many orgasms she had had. The next thing Kate noticed was that she was back to leaning up against him with his arms holding her tight, the water cooling. "Are you alright?" Rick demanded sounding concerned and a bit panicked. "Yeah, I think so. What happened?" she murmured. "You passed out," he stated still sounding unsettled. "I what!?" She had never had that happen before. Hell, most of the men she had had sex with barely paid attention to her.

"I stopped counting the number of orgasms you were having somewhere around 12 and a little later you passed out," he explained. "I turned off the jets and just held you."

"I passed out." Kate tried it on for size. She spun in place to look into his eyes. "Yes," she told him. Rick got a puzzled look on his face. "Yes to what?" He hadn't asked her for anything.

"Just yes. Yes, yes, yes!" And Kate kissed him.

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"Are you coming back out again?" Johanna asked Oscar as they stood just inside her front door. Rick had already taken all of his bags out to his truck. He got the duty since Kate had gone into work for her required 30 day review.

"Count on it. I just don't know when. I need to spend some time working on the next restaurant we have in the office," he told her. "New York City." The way she said it made his heart sink a little. How much she now disliked her home town amazed him. "Do you want me to come back out?" He decided to ask the big question. No matter what the answer was he would be out just as the contractor was finishing so he could walk the site and have him correct things that needed to be fixed. It was part of his contract with Rick.

Johanna buried her face into his chest before she spoke. "Yes." It was an answer that scared the shit out of her and yet part of her was soaring and wishing that day was already here. Her answer got Oscar to tilt her head up so he could kiss her and he felt her kiss him back with almost the same amount of passion. "I'll be happy to come back in a few weeks," he told her after he broke from the kiss so he could look at her.

What he saw was conflict. Conflict between himself and her deceased husband. He knew he would need to wait and he was willing to do so. However that didn't mean he wouldn't try and speed up the process a little.

"I'll be back in a few short weeks. THOR, come on boy, we have to go home," Oscar called out which earned him watching both Thor and Patch come running into the room play attacking each other. He managed to corral him and picked him up. "Say goodbye to your best friend and to Jo," he said. "Bye Thor." Johanna petted him just as Oscar kissed her again which had her leaning against him when he stopped.

Johanna waved goodbye from her door watching Oscar wave back as Rick backed up to turn around. She closed the door and leaned her back up against it. "Please don't be mad at me Jim. He really is nice and so sweet to me," Johanna said to the ceiling.

"So you and Johanna?" Rick asked finally after holding his tongue. "I'm not sure yet, but I think so. I'd like to think so," Oscar admitted. "Eileen has been gone a while now old friend. I'm happy for you if it works out. Are you still going to go through with the remodel of the second floor?" Rick questioned.

"That depends on you and Kate," he pointed out. "I guess we are pretty obvious, I suppose," Rick said wryly, which had Oscar chuckling. "Even if I was blind, which I'm not by the way, I would still see what's between you two. Besides you spent roughly $2.1 million on this family." He stated the obvious. "Has Johanna said anything about that?" Rick knew she wasn't stupid. "Not a word. You do have good medical coverage? Good enough for a life flight?" he asked joking at Rick's expense. "I'm kind of hoping Kate will help with that," Rick confessed. Oscar was still chuckling. "You better pray that that's enough."

"What are you laughing at? You're the one who's trying to get closer to that living tornado," Rick reminded him. "Yes, but if I'm lucky, she'll be _my_ tornado," he countered, not afraid of Jo.

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"Serena! It's good to have you home again." She was found by the other 8 members of her house as they were coming back from seeing family. She hugged each of them. "It's good to be back and have you home as well," Serena told them. "I'm sure you and Joanne found something to do to occupy the time," Cadence mentioned and caught Serena starting to blush. "Don't worry everyone in this house and beyond knows that you two love each other. And in case you're worried, we all approve," Cadence told her. "How was your mission?" She changed the subject to allow Serena to lose her blush.

"Very successful thank you. We gained another $152 million," Serena informed them. "Which is likely already spent," Cadence laughed a little. "I may have spent a good portion of it already." Serena wasn't really embarrassed, it was just that her friends were relying on her to do the right things, to make the right choices. "Sarah?" Cadence asked, understanding how Serena thought. "I may have spent $80 million for an expansion for her, yes. I'll install them when they arrive," Serena conceded. "Don't worry so much Serena, we all know that Sarah is part of why we have been this successful in combating Paladin. That and your skills," Cadence told her taking hold of her arm.

"Tell that to the polar bears in Alaska," Serena countered. Losing that many shifters in one Paladin mission still haunted her. "That wasn't your fault. The intelligence simply came too late to help them," Cadence said sharply, hoping Serena would get over it and move on. They needed her mind to be focused. They were both interrupted when Joanne came running in. "Serena, Carol was just on the phone. Eric referred to his target in Wyoming as Rodgers and is sending a second observation team and has a combat team on standby. But it was what he ordered them to take with them that has her worried," Joanne told both of them.

"Rodgers, why does that name mean something to me? …You two are with me." And Serena ran for the core that was Sarah and placed her hand on the panel. "Sarah the target's name is Rodgers, there is something about that name," Serena said. "Richard Rodgers, formerly known as Richard Castle. His mother's maiden name is Martha Rodgers who is a Kodiak bear who is the lifemate of… " Serene interrupted her. "Jackson Hunt."

"The Kodiak Bear community. I thought Richard didn't live in his community," Joanne said. "Correct, he and his father do not get along," Sarah stated. "That's the understatement of the century," Serena added. "What was the other thing Carol mentioned?"

"He has ordered them to fly in several cases of Fentanyl along with several delivery systems," Joanne explained.

"Fentanyl. Fentanyl is approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 40 to 50 times more potent than pharmaceutical grade (100% pure) heroin," Sarah elucidated. "SHIT!" Cadence all but spat out. "Fentanyl is used recreationally, whereby death is common," Sarah added. "Why gas them instead of just shooting them or using mortars or some other explosive that can be delivered? They have access to combat aircraft." Cadence didn't understand.

"Fentanyl's most common side-effects (more than 10% of patients) include diarrhea, nausea, constipation, dry mouth, somnolence, confusion, asthenia (weakness), sweating, and less frequently (3 to 10% of patients) abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss, dizziness, nervousness, hallucinations, anxiety, depression, flu-like symptoms, dyspepsia (indigestion), dyspnea (shortness of breath), hypoventilation, apnea, and urinary retention. Fentanyl use has also been associated with aphasia," Sarah added.

"OH MY GOD!" Serena had worked it out. "Don't you see?" Serena looked at them both and saw nothing. "How does Rick or anyone with him at the time fight back if they are busy with diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, dizziness, or anxiety, that might be strong enough that he fears the outcome of the attack." Serena looked at them again to see if they got it now.

Serena slumped at what these two knew or in this case didn't know. "They don't want them dead, they want to capture them alive. Carol said his target had a 6-year-old girl," Serena pointed out. "Alexis Harper Rodgers," Sarah provided. "They will dissect Richard after they torture him. Run untold tests on his little girl to find out why some people are shifters and others aren't." Serena understood what Paladin intended and was terrified for both of them.

"And they call us monsters!" Joanne said, her voice seething with venom as she found herself in her lover's arms. "You are not a monster, love, and something happens to you over my dead body." Serena kissed her forehead since she was a little taller than Joanne.

"Sarah, what or who do we have in the area? And don't tell me Jackson Hunt. He might actually help them capture his own son and granddaughter," Serena demanded. "There are three bird shifter communities within the Black Hills National Forest. Golden Eagle, Red-Tailed Hawk, and the Turkey Buzzard. The Turkey Buzzard are technically the only ones located in Wyoming. The others are located in South Dakota," Sarah explained. "The same forest that Hunt and his Kodiak Bear community is located in." Serena hung her head. Could this possibly get any more complicated?

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Kate didn't know what to expect since she hadn't actually done much of anything since being hired. She was given her area to patrol at the beginning of each of her weeks. It meant she didn't need to come into the office except to pick up her schedule for the week, unless something happened that required her to come into the office. It was all very boring and a complete waste of her talent. "Sir, you wanted to see me?" Kate asked after knocking on his door frame. "Have a seat Beckett. How are you handling your assignments?" he inquired. "I'm fine sir. Took a little time to get used to being in a car all day, but I'm adapting," she told him. "This isn't New York City, Beckett. We do things differently out here," he informed her.

' _Yeah but corruption is everywhere isn't it?'_ Kate thought to herself. "There is one more section of Weston County for you to patrol, here is your schedule for this week. I want you in there and patrol the area. All of it as usual. Every little back road that ends in some farmer's ranch," he ordered her. "Yes, sir." Kate took her map and looked it over. "Isn't this the location of the Native American Community? The last I knew we don't have jurisdiction over their area," she commented. "Then it's a good thing that your information is inaccurate. It is not an Indian Reservation and it is in our jurisdiction. Patrol the area deputy. Dismissed." He went back to looking at his paperwork. "Yes, sir."

Kate walked out to her car and found a man in a maintenance coverall walking away from it. "Is there a problem?" she asked as he walked by her. "No, no problem." He kept walking. If her hair could stand on end it would be by now. She got behind the wheel and looked around. _'Something is going on Rick. I've been ordered to patrol every back road in what you say is the Kodiak Bear area,'_ Kate called out to him. _'Most of it is located in South Dakota not Wyoming and if you even try, their security will stop you and tell you to turn around,'_ Rick warned her. _'What does he expect to gain by you driving through the little area they own that is in Wyoming?'_ he wondered.

' _There was a man in a maintenance coverall walking away from my car as I came out,'_ Kate informed him. ' _Force your car to break down while you are in there? Giving him cause to go in there to get you?'_ Rick speculated. _'Force a confrontation maybe?'_ she guessed. _'Making you the expendable pawn,'_ Rick said. _'I die and he calls in the FBI to take over the place and since the FBI won't stop at the border, they can go wherever they want.'_ Kate suggested. _'Don't go.'_ Rick said. ' _I don't think that's an option. I'm betting my car has just been bugged with a locator so they know exactly where I am,'_ Kate replied grimly. _'Or he was checking on it because you've had it all along,'_ he offered.

" _I'll think of something.'_ Play it by ear was what Kate was saying. _'I can be out by the highway waiting for you and you can take me with you,'_ Rick proposed. That had Kate thinking about it. If they had been following where she went, they would know she went over to Rick's to get coffee and lunch each day.

' _What if this is a ploy to get you to leave Alexis alone with my mother?'_ Kate knew Alexis meant a lot to him. _'She has Midas and Maggie.'_ Rick was sure they would protect her. _'Against men armed with guns?'_ Midas and Maggie would stand no chance and if Alexis survived this and found out her dogs were dead… Kate could mentally hear his sigh. _'Fine, just be careful. They're up to something,'_ he warned her. _'I'll be fine. I've had training. Just you be careful. If they don't have eyes on you they may think you are with me and come get Alexis,'_ Kate cautioned him.

She started her car and headed out for her assigned patrol area with her head on a swivel looking for anything and everything. She drove and kept her eyes on each and every car that she came up from behind on because they feared she was going to pull them over for speeding, which they likely were, not that she noticed or cared. She watched every car that passed her going to other way, looking to see if they suddenly turned around and kept her eyes on the cars behind that car.

Still she made it to her turnoff and looked around as she slowly turned, paying attention to any car that followed her or was waiting for her ahead. Nothing, still she drove slowly. It was just a simple, narrow road, though it was blacktopped. Kate started to enter the wooded section of her patrol area when a pair of quads shot out of the woods, one from each side.

Each of them had a man who was heavily armed and wearing a combat vest. She was forced to hit the brakes and stopped as they got off their quads and leveled their weapons at her. Kate exited her car and waited for them with her hand on her service weapon. "Turn around and go back Deputy. This is private property and you were not invited. Unless you have a reason or a warrant, you can't enter our property," one of them told her.

"My boss says otherwise," Kate countered. "The Sheriff of Weston County is lucky he knows how to tie his own shoes," the same guy stated and shouldered his weapon. He whipped out something from behind his back too quickly for Kate's liking and she began to pull out her service weapon. "I wouldn't Deputy." The other one leveled his fully automatic weapon on her chest. "At this range your vest isn't going to save you," he warned Kate, who already knew that. Hell, it might not even help her if he was several feet beyond the quad he showed up on.

The first guy, however, waved his wand, stepped up to Kate, and heard it sound off when it reached her utility belt. "It's full of metal, so what?" she questioned. "If this was a metal detector I would agree, however this little item only detects active bugs and you have one sewn into your utility belt. Likely have one or more on your car, too." He challenged her to respond to that.

Kate's poker face didn't hold up very well as her eyes widened. She suspected the one on her car, but on her person? "I didn't…" Kate was interrupted. "Didn't know that you were being used? Didn't know you were being lied to? And you expect us to believe you?" His tone clearly suggested that he didn't. "Turn around and go home Deputy. If you are an innocent in this I suggest you quit your job and change careers," the first guy told her.

' _We need to leave and quickly. As fast as possible.'_ The voice in the back of her head sounded insistent if not frightened. ' _Can't you feel it? Our life mate is in trouble! Leave, NOW!'_ the voice in her head screamed at her.

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Rick was outside close to Alexis as she played on her playset while he threw a plush toy for the dogs to go get and bring back to play tug of war with, only to have him throw it again. "You ready for lunch pumpkin?" he asked as he watched her slowing down. He threw the toy and started walking for the house with Alexis next to him if not just a little behind him. Midas and Maggie however had started barking at something.

He turned his head to see what they were barking at and what he saw was a small flock of what he thought were hawks sitting on the cross piece that supported the swings. "Go inside Alexis, do it now." He motioned for her to keep walking. "Daddy?" Alexis questioned him. "Don't argue with me Alexis, go inside now! Midas, Maggie, inside. Go with Alexis," he commanded which got their attention but they didn't move though they did stop barking.

"ALEXIS! I SAID GO INSIDE! Midas, Maggie, inside, now!" Rick yelled at them. It finally had Alexis running for the house with Midas and Maggie right behind her. He turned his attention to what looked like five hawks sitting on his playset when suddenly one of them flew down to him. He turned into a naked human male, who looked to be in his early 30's maybe, and had landed on his feet just a few feet in front of Rick. Rick was just about ready to change into a bear.

"I was sent to warn you. Paladin is coming." However he got no further when he and his friends heard what Rick didn't. "They're here! We will take the planes, you need to protect your daughter." He started running and changed back into a red-tailed hawk in mid-stride just as his friends launched themselves into the air.

Rick turned and ran for the house. As he did, his clothes ripped to shreds when he changed his form into that of very large Kodiak bear, huffing and grunting as he ran on all fours as fast as he could. He let the bear inside him take charge; he just became a passenger.

If the hawk was right, he may already be too late.


	30. Chapter 30

**CH30**

Alexis ran into the house with tears in her eyes. Her dad had yelled at her and she didn't understand why. She didn't think she had done anything wrong. Midas and Maggie had caught up to her easily and were actually running past her. She increased her speed as much as she could. Alexis could hear Midas and Maggie barking their heads off; she hadn't ever heard them sound like that before. Still her dad was mad at her and that only left Midas and Maggie.

As Alexis ran into the house she found Midas and Maggie just inside the door snarling. She was just behind them when she saw two strange men standing there with something big in their hands. Then she saw two more men enter and each of them threw something. The first two started putting something on their heads that looked a lot like what the other two were wearing.

Suddenly there was smoke everywhere. She began coughing and Midas and Maggie had started whimpering. Then Alexis's world disappeared. What the first two men saw was a bear come rushing out of the smoke and crashing into the closest man. He screamed in pain as he pulled the trigger of his weapon, however his weapon was pointed upwards; he emptied his clip into the ceiling as his leg was ripped open and he fell to the floor and started bleeding out.

Alexis the bear left the first man lying on the floor screaming in pain as she jumped for the next man and did the same thing. She had just finished ripping his leg open as he emptied his weapon through all the glass that was the outside wall. Just as that happened she was hit with four barbs that shot a tremendous amount of electricity into her body, knocking her unconscious.

Outside, Rick's bear had just started running when he heard automatic weapons fire inside the house. That was when he let the bear inside him take over this fight. The bear saw the windows of the area that he was running flat out to, desperate to get to Alexis when more windows shattered under weapons fire. As the bear ran through what was left of the glass doors, he ran straight into a hail of bullets, some of which hit his body, however he just ignored them. He ripped open the chest of the first man he came upon with one swipe of his right paw. The electrical charge of the vest he was wearing was nothing more than a tickle to the enraged bear. The next man fell in the same manner, this time from his left paw.

The bear charged for the stairway and launched himself up the stairs straight into a hail of bullets from four more men. The bear paid no attention to the bullets and with one swing ripped open one man's chest while the other paw ripped another man's chest open. The bear, in his desire to run through them to find Alexis, ran too far past those two and he was forced to slow and stop. While he did this, the other two men ejected their clips and slapped in new ones then started to empty their new clips into the bear.

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Kate was driving away with her foot on the floor as her hunk of junk screamed in protest. Her heart was pounding in her chest; she could almost literally taste her fear and could feel the tears running down her face as the voice in the back of her head was screaming, _'Faster, faster!'_ Suddenly Kate started feeling like something was hitting her and it was a familiar feeling. It was just that it didn't hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. She was being hit by weapons fire, round after round after round. It actually forced her to lose control of her car as she careened off the road narrowly missing slamming into a ditch. She took her seat belt off and stepped out of the car. The car was stuck and she knew she wasn't going to be able to free it, so she started running. The only problem was it was miles to Rick's house; Kate kept crying all the way.

' _Please let me take over. For_ _our_ _love of Rick, please let me take over!'_ the voice in the back of her head was screaming at her in a voice that sounded just as scared as she was. "Please, just save them, please!?" Kate squeezed her eyes closed and suddenly she felt entirely different. She couldn't describe the feeling exactly. She felt big and powerful, more powerful than she ever had before. She could also feel that every muscle in her body was working as hard as they could.

Why did it feel like she was going up and down? Kate opened her eyes a tiny bit. **"WHAT THE HELL!?"** She was flying and gaining altitude. How the hell was she flying? She turned her head just a little though she found that she couldn't turn it very far. Something or someone was stopping her. Still it was just enough for her to see a really large wing off to her side, and it was PURPLE! Was it really connected to her? Kate felt like she still had arms and legs, but where the hell did the wing come from?

Her head was pointed forward and Rick's house was coming into view very quickly; she was coming in from a side. Her eyesight was perfect, better than she had ever had before. Her lungs were huge and she was really breathing heavily. She saw clearly that a small bear was being carried out of Rick's front door by two men with a third right behind them.

"ALEXIS! NO THEY CAN'T HAVE HER!" Kate was sure she was screaming but all that came out was a roar. She watched as she flew in, gliding really, and landed on the car the three men were headed for. Somehow she knew she had flattened it like a pancake. She saw a huge claw reach out and grab one of the men that was carrying Alexis. The hand was huge and it had massive claws. She didn't even feel the electrical charge that the vest gave off. She literally cut him in half with her claws just as she saw the third guy suddenly getting closer and closer to her face when suddenly it felt like he was in her mouth being bitten in two. She could taste his blood in her mouth and it felt like triumph. Kate felt like she was really going to be able to save Alexis.

The other man who had Alexis started firing his weapon and Kate didn't feel a thing which her mind told her was impossible. Her vest stood no chance of stopping those rounds. Kate watched a large hand with large claws reach out and grab him cutting him in half. She had done it, she had saved Alexis! Kate watched a large hand reach out and with tender care scooped up a small bear off the concrete and held her tightly and tenderly.

It was at this time that her head turned abruptly and she saw a car come flying up the drive. As it got closer she saw a man stick his head out the passenger window and start firing his weapon. Once again Kate felt nothing. It was likely at least a few of the rounds were hitting her but she felt absolutely nothing. Kate did, however, feel her head lift up as her lungs expanded then her head came down and she watched as a mass of flame erupted in a stream that enveloped the car.

When the fire dissipated all Kate saw was a burnt out hulk of what used to be a car. She couldn't even see the skeletons of the men inside. She found herself running as she leapt up into the air and was soon flying again. She felt her muscles working hard as she sucked in large breaths and then let them out.

Still she had hold of Alexis and in her mind that was what counted.

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Rick had just finished killing the last of the men, however he was hurting. His bear was hurting as he raced up the stairs with only one thing on his mind. FIND ALEXIS! There was movement just outside the front door that got his attention so he raced out the front door, his fur dripping blood behind him. He stepped outside just in time to see a huge shape running and take off flying.

"A DRAGON? A FUCKING DRAGON? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME! AND IT'S PURPLE!" Both the bear and the man within it just stood there far too shocked to move. "I thought dragons were legends, myth, or fantasy." Rick's mind just couldn't register what he was seeing. It wasn't just any purple either, it was a kind of translucent purple, a pale amethyst. Like it was lit up from the inside. No visible bones, or muscles, or organs. Just purple! "AND IT'S GOT ALEXIS! That got his bear moving. He chased the flying dragon as it flew out into his little valley and then beyond.

Rick knew he was moving, his muscles were screaming at him as he huffed and snorted all the way, not realizing that he was bleeding heavily. He was just reaching the end of his valley and would be into his woods soon, except he was slowing down. He was tiring. "NO! Can't stop, CAN'T STOP!" Rick knew he was still running, but he was slowing and he was beginning to feel pain, so much pain.

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Kate wanted to know that Alexis was okay and soon found herself slowing and landing in a small clearing, breaking several trees as she did. Snapped them like tooth picks, like they were nothing. She watched as the large hand with large claws ever so carefully put Alexis the bear down on the ground. The next thing Kate knew she was naked. She walked over to Alexis the bear and wrapped her arms around her and cried.

Alexis was a little bigger than she thought. She wasn't sure she believed Alexis could shift into a bear like Rick did. Yet here she was with Alexis in her arms; she was most definitely a bear and was unconscious. "Alexis sweetie can you wake up for me? Please? I need to know that you're alright. Please Alexis, wake up for me." Kate kissed her fur. "I love you, please wake up." Kate buried her face into Alexis's fur and let her tears fall. Her heart was wide open and would shatter to bits if Alexis wasn't alright. Kate lifted her head as she heard something. It was getting closer and it sounded like trees were breaking as someone was running. Soon a very large bear came into view, however there was just one problem as it got closer. It was bleeding a lot.

Rick and his bear weren't paying attention to the smaller trees that were in their way. Still each tree they hit hurt a lot and caused his bear to grunt in pain at each one. He could smell Alexis was near which had him running harder, drawing on his last reserves. He could also smell Kate which made no sense. Kate was in her patrol car headed for his father's kingdom. When he got close enough though, he could see a naked Kate with her arms around a small bear. _'Rick, baby?'_ She thought it looked like him but it had been a while since she had seen him as a bear _._ He walked up slowly to both of them since it looked like combat was over. _'How is she?"_ He needed to know she was okay too. "I don't know, she won't wake up for me. Rick, babe, you're bleeding really badly." Kate reached out a hand and stroked an incredibly large bear snout.

' _Let me fix him. Just trust me and let me fix him,'_ the voice in the back of her head begged her. _'Please, we saved Alexis_ _;_ _let me save our life mate,'_ the voice pleaded. Kate sat there and watched Rick nuzzle Alexis with his snout as she also saw the pool of blood below his body getting bigger. He was bleeding to death, she knew it. _'FINE!'_ And she relaxed, squeezed her eyes closed, and felt herself change. _'What the hell?'_ Rick thought, dazed, as he watched Kate leave Alexis and step away. Then in almost the blink of an eye, she was a purple dragon. _'Stand still baby, let me fix you.'_

' _Never say fix to a bear Kate,'_ he told her. _'Shut-up and let me help you,'_ she replied, not the least bit amused. Kate watched as a large hand, _her hand_ , reached out and a large claw delicately touched areas that looked terrible on him. Rick couldn't believe it. Kate was a freaking dragon! A _purple_ dragon no less. But where her really large claw touched him he instantly felt better. "Daddy?" a small voice spoke up which got both of them to look at Alexis who was now a naked 6-year-old little girl.

' _This is the best I can do. He needs to rest,'_ the voice inside her head told her as suddenly Kate felt herself shrink for lack of a better word. Before, she could actually see over the trees, now she would be lucky to see over a shrub.

"Alexis, sweetie!" Kate had never been so happy as she got down and pulled Alexis into her. "Kate?" Alexis wasn't sure since just a second ago she hadn't looked like Kate. "Yes, my darling girl, it's me and I would never hurt you, ever." She kissed her head."Your father is here too." Kate reached out to stroke Rick's snout, who had tears running down his fur. "You're a monster, too?" Alexis asked, which had Kate suck in a breath as her heart ached fiercely. "No sweetie, you're not a monster. Neither is your father and neither am I. We love you, both of us."

"I'm a monster," Alexis stated, her voice a monotone. Kate wept, her tears running down her face. "No Alexis, I promise you you're not. You're a perfect little girl who happens to also be a bear. Hey, look at me. I'm a dragon. Have you ever seen a dragon before?" Kate squeezed her tighter and watched as Rick sat on his ass and opened his arms. Kate knew just what those arms could do, so she got up, lifted Alexis, and placed her in Rick's arms. She watched Alexis's small frame literally disappear in his furry embrace.

' _How do you feel babe?'_ She didn't mean his wounds. _'My heart is broken. My little girl thinks she's a monster,'_ Rick answered her question, echoing how Kate was feeling. Somehow Alexis remembered what Meredith, her own mother, had called her. All these years she had carried that around inside her and never said a word. "We need to get home and decide what to do," she told him. Kate was leaning with her back up against Rick's arms that were still around Alexis as they watched a large bird that came gliding in and changed into a naked woman.

"My name is Hayley Blue. We were sent to warn you that Paladin was attacking you and your family. Except that what they wanted to do was capture you, for what purpose we don't know. The person who sent us has a theory, but that's all it is, theory. Your house is clear of enemies at this time. We believe that all of them are dead. You will have to decide for yourselves if it is safe enough for you to stay there after this."

"It is a great pleasure to meet a Wyvern. Our kind was certain your kind was extinct. I am delighted to be proved wrong. We will keep your secret to ourselves, we will not even tell the person who sent us," Hayley swore to them. "Who sent you?" Kate asked since she was presently the only one who could talk. "Her name is Serena. Like Paladin is an organization to kill all of us, we have an organization to prevent it. She is our leader."

"We eliminated the miniature planes that we believe were meant to crash into your house and flood the place with some form of gas. Likely meant to incapacitate you so you could be captured," Haley explained. ' _Midas, Maggie?'_ Rick asked. "What about the dogs?" Kate passed on the question. "They were affected by the gas, we have rendered them unconscious and healed them of any damage. They should be fine, though they will likely feel some of the aftereffects of the gas for several hours," Hayley informed them. "You are free to go home or somewhere else. We will inform Serena that you have survived the attempted capture." Then Haley began running, turning into a red-tailed hawk in mid-step, and flew away. "WAIT! How do we contact this Serena?" Kate yelled after her but she didn't return. She sighed and went back to resting up against Rick.

It was 30 minutes later. "How is Alexis?" Kate was still concerned for her. Alexis believed she was a monster. "You should have talked to her long before this Rick. I can't imagine her walking around all this time thinking that she was a monster." Kate wasn't angry, hell she wasn't sure she would have done any better. But if Alexis had found out from her father that she wasn't a monster they wouldn't have this problem. _'I screwed up, I get it. I'm sorry. I just never thought she would remember something from when she was_ _a_ _year old. I mean who remembers being one?'_ Rick said wearily. "Let's go home babe. We need to clean up this mess and decide what to do in case they come back again," she said and waited for him to release Alexis.

' _So you're a real dragon?'_ Rick questioned her. "It appears that I am. Maybe I'm the one that's a monster," she remarked still somewhat horrified at what had happened to her. _'We are shifters,_ _ **not**_ _monsters_ _,_ _'_ the voice in the back of her head told her. _'You're not a monster Kate. Any more than I am or Alexis is,'_ he said adamantly, upset that she didn't realize how powerful and beautiful her dragon was.

' _Why didn't you tell me you were a shifter?'_ he asked her as he released Alexis so they could look at her. "Because I didn't know I was one! It's never happened before," she snapped. _'You've never heard the dragon inside you?'_ Rick didn't see how that was even possible as he displayed a naked little girl who was sleeping peacefully. "You mean the voice in the back of my head? I truly thought I was developing a split personality, that I was losing my mind and going mad," Kate informed him. _'When did the voice start?'_ Rick queried. "Right after Dad died actually," she said as she bent down to check Alexis, her heart still aching for the girl. "She's just asleep."

' _Kate, babe, you realize the only way you are a shifter is if one or more of your parents are too. Shifters are born_ _that way_ _, it's not a disease.'_ He didn't mean to shock her to her core but he just had. **"WHAT!?"** Kate just stared at Rick who was still a bear and looked a touch better. "Mom, Dad, or both are like me!?" How was that possible? She had never even guessed that her parents were dragons.

"Have you seen more like me?" she questioned. _'Dragons are extinct Kate. Have been for centuries or longer._ _Tha_ _t's why dragons are myth or part of fantasy stories. Their power makes for great writing,'_ Rick told her and nosed Alexis to get her to wake up. That got Kate down on the ground. "Come on sweetie can you wake up for me? Please Alexis," she begged as she sat naked on the ground, ignoring the sticks and rocks poking her in the ass as she drew Alexis close to her. "Come on Alexis, you're safe."

Alexis started to blink her eyes and looked up to see a woman holding her. It felt nice, safe. "Mom?" Alexis questioned 'til Kate came into view. "Hi Kate." Kate overlooked the mom part for now. "Hi sweetie. You had your father and I scared to death. Feeling better?" she questioned and watched her nod. Alexis turned her head and saw the face of a huge bear that had wet eyes and a wet face with dried red spots all over.

"Daddy?" Alexis reached up a tentative hand to touch his nose. "Your father can't talk while he's a bear sweetheart," Kate told her. "Why are you still a bear Rick?" This would be so much simpler if he was a human. Then it occurred to her that he would be naked too. _'I can't heal myself in human form, only in bear form,'_ he said to her. That certainly explained why he was looking a little better. "Oh, I…we should go home I suppose. We can talk about what we're going to do while we walk," Kate suggested. "Come on sweetie, how about you ride on your father while we walk home?" She got up, brushing the stuff off her butt. "Okay, up you go. Grab hold of his fur so you don't fall off," she instructed her.

"Why are we monsters?" Alexis asked as Rick walked on all fours, Alexis had essentially laid down and had her hands full of fur. "Oh, Alexis, we're not monsters. The real monsters are the people who can't accept us. You're not a monster, sweet girl. You never were and still aren't a monster. Your father loves you and I love you," she told her but didn't see her smile. Kate feared it was going to take time to get Alexis to accept that she wasn't a monster. How had she remembered what her own mother thought of her? And just what kind of mother was Meredith anyway? Alexis was her child that she had given birth to.

' _If I have children will they be dragons?'_ she asked the voice in her head. _'Most likely. Dragon genes would be dominant, however it is possible that they could be a Kodiak_ _b_ _ear,'_ the voice replied.


	31. Chapter 31

**CH31**

What Kate and Rick found was a mess. There were dead men everywhere, a few of which had actually bled out leaving really large pools of blood. There were bullet holes everyplace it seemed. Plus there was the burned out wreck of a car in the driveway.

"You?" Rick asked after they all had taken the time to get showered and dressed, secure in the knowledge that they had the time. "Yeah, it still feels like it wasn't really me. I cut those two in half and bit the third one in half. I finally had Alexis safe when that car came charging up the road. I still don't know how I did it." Kate's face was grim.

"The dragon part of you is who did it Kate, and no, it's not an alien or a parasite wrapped around your spinal cord that has control over your body. Think of it as two people living in the same body who happen to want the same things. Your dragon understands what it means to be a dragon while you understand what it means to be human. Once you get used to each other and talk to each other, things will get easier. Or so I learned - the hard way," he admitted. Rick saw the look on her face. "I wanted to escape from my father and I saw the bear in me as being him. Brutal and ruthless. A beast that had no qualms or compassion."

"I spent my years in New York forcing the bear inside me to keep silent. Having my own daughter defend my honor got me thinking and not just about what my publisher and publicist had done to me. If I had listened even a little to my bear it's likely that I would never have let Gina and Paula do that to me," he said ruefully. _'Damn straight!'_ his bear told him.

"My father is wrong, so very wrong but I also know he'll never change. There is strength, bear or dragon strength, and then there is dominance like my father's. I learned a hard lesson. You can be bear or dragon strong but human kind, thoughtful, and considerate of others. It's what gained me many of my friends, like Oscar for example," he shared with her. It earned him a hug and a kiss from Kate.

"How do we clean up this mess?" she asked. "Fixing the holes and broken windows is easy. Call the contractor who built my house in the first place. A small or large extra payment should keep his mouth closed over what he finds. As for the bodies and the car?" Rick paused and slumped with a large exhale of breath. "I know someone who can take care of that. It's just he might do it using my dead body." He gave her a clue.

Kate hung her head. Rick was talking about his father. "We can take what Espo found on my boss and what we found on what's left of the dead men. It might be enough," she offered. "Plus his men have likely already informed him of my attempt to gain access to his land." Meaning her boss had bugged her to accomplish something. He thought about it. He considered himself lucky that both himself and Alexis were still alive and he knew that he had Kate to thank for that. "We can try it, just be ready to fly all of us out of there on a moment's notice," Rick warned her. Kate, however, was hoping it didn't come to that. She didn't want that many people to know she was a dragon, besides she still had to confront her mother. Yeah, this day totally sucked, big time.

"I'll get Alexis's and my things packed for a week, I suggest you go home and do the same. We may be staying with my father at least until the car and bodies are gone." Rick knew he was going to hate this. This day had just gone from bad to worse.

Kate gave Rick a kiss. "How do I get home?" she questioned since her Jeep was at home and her Durango was abandoned on the side of the road miles from here. "Take the quad, the keys are in the garage next to the door. Just press the button on the wall next to the door to open the garage door. I'll close it when Alexis and I come over," he said. Kate walked back into the house.

"Please be quick Rick, I really don't like being separated," she told him and jogged down the stairs. Downstairs she found Alexis crying while petting Midas and Maggie who were lying on their sides breathing heavily. _'Rick! Get down here. Alexis needs you,'_ she called to him.

"Midas and Maggie will be fine Alexis, they just don't feel too good right now, but they'll get better." Kate stroked her hair. "The bad men hurt them," Alexis kept repeating as she cried. "I know they did, but they'll get better and they were defending you from the bad guys weren't they?" she gently asked her not really knowing what happened down here. Alexis was nodding while still crying just as Rick came crashing down the stairs at a dead run, worried that more Paladin men had shown up. Alexis's crying only increased when she saw Rick show up in front of her. Kate left Alexis in his capable hands. "Try not to take too long babe." Kate kissed his head and bent way down to kiss Alexis's head, too.

The face Alexis was making was breaking his heart. First she was attacked followed by thinking she was a monster and her two best friends were hurt. Rick hoped his ability was powerful enough for this as he took her into his arms and hugged her.

Kate came charging down their little hill from the highway and slid the quad to a stop just behind her Jeep and ran inside, finding her mother sitting at the table eating lunch. She walked right up to her and glared at her since she was really furious with her. "I want answers Mom and I want the truth. Don't bother trying to wave me off." Kate was all but towering over her.

Johanna put her sandwich down and waited for the Katie storm to sweep over her. "Which one is or was the shifter? You or Dad? Or both? And why the hell didn't you tell me I was a dragon!" Kate was so angry she was shaking. Johanna hadn't been certain which storm was going to hit her, however this wasn't one of the storms she had even considered. "What happened?" Johanna asked.

"Just answer my question Mom. I think I deserve the truth. I'm a freaking dragon!" Kate glared at her mother. Johanna however was unfazed by Kate's death glare for a moment. However the secret she had been keeping for untold years had always weighed heavily on her.

"Your father was a dragon, I'm only human," Johanna finally admitted. "I met your father just like you were told and I loved him with all of my heart. It was right after he proposed that he told me who and what he was. I didn't believe him at first. I was really conflicted. He had just proposed. I had a ring on my finger and I was so very much in love. Next I knew I was thinking my future husband was a mental case and that he should be locked up. Then he convinced me to come with him out to the cabin that the two of us had been out to a few times. We used it to sneak away from our parents so we could spend time together," Johanna told her, which was code for sneak out and make love to each other where she could scream to her heart's content.

Kate had a question. "I thought you and Dad had bought that cabin. That's what you told me anyway." She wondered just how much of her life was a lie. "The cabin was in your father's family, they had used it for years. Its isolation was perfect for them and him," Johanna told her. "It was out there that he proved it to me. He begged me not to freak out on him. That he truly did love me but he couldn't keep such a big secret from me. That was when he turned into the really huge…dragon. His body was even bigger than the house itself, let alone the wings, tail, and that head full of teeth." Johanna squeezed her eyes closed and pictured that day in her mind.

"He was so very big and he was black. Darker than the night itself black. Only his huge head full of such very big teeth were the only things not black. …I was scared speechless, so very frightened. I actually begged him to take me home." Johanna paused to blink back the tears. "You know what's funny? I never even considered taking my engagement ring off." Johanna to this day was still amazed at that. "Your father convinced me to stay that night. I slept in the other bedroom, your bedroom, and we barely spoke the next day. Then that night he changed into a dragon again and took me flying on his back. I had never felt like that again or since. I knew that I loved him, dragon or not."

"Then his parents were killed in a gas explosion that turned their home into match sticks. Suddenly he was the last known dragon on the planet and he was mine." Johanna wiped away the tears.

"When you were born you never displayed any indication that you had inherited his dragon genes, so there was no need to tell you. Then the love of my life was run over by a stupid drunk driver. Of all the things to die from." Johanna still couldn't believe it. "I'm sorry Katie, I really am. But you didn't have a need to know. If you weren't a dragon there was no need to traumatize you." Johanna pleaded her case.

"That's why Dad loved that little, almost falling down cabin." It dawned on Kate. "We went out there when you were little and when you were fast asleep, your father would change into a dragon and take me flying. We stopped when you go too old to hide it from you," Johanna admitted.

Kate sat down in one of the dining room chairs but still faced her mother. "Black dragons are evil dragons Katie. Your father fought his evil tendencies all his life. He was convinced that it was me that allowed him to succeed. He was such a good man who would suddenly blow up for what seemed no reason or over any little thing," Johanna told her which had Kate remembering just such an instance. She never did understand why her father was so mad at her over such a little thing. Only to have him come back hours later and apologize. "His father was black and his mother was white. They were both evil and I think they were both assassins. I could just never prove it, and then there was the explosion," Johanna explained.

"I'm purple, so what am I?" Kate questioned. If her family was evil did that mean she was evil too? "Wait here." Johanna got up and went to her room.

Kate was beginning to wonder if she was coming back when suddenly she walked into the dining room. She was also carrying something. "Your father left this behind. I'm not sure why I kept it since you didn't display any signs of being a dragon. We just assumed that my genes won out." Johanna dropped a book on the table in front of her. It looked old and handmade and had the form of a dragon coiled about itself in the center on the cover. It was a color Kate wasn't familiar with. It was also obviously locked with two large bands that held the very old and very thick book closed.

Kate looked at her mother. "Jim's parents had who got it from their parents and so on. They had given it to Jim and now it's yours. Jim couldn't open it and as you can see there's no opening for a key. Maybe you'll have better luck and maybe it will hold answers to your questions." Johanna hoped it did.

"What happened Katie?" Johanna didn't understand why she was showing signs of being a dragon now. Had she already shifted into her dragon form? "We were attacked by a group that wants all shifters dead, shifters like me," Kate told her. "Paladin," Johanna all but whispered uneasily.

Kate turned on her mother with a renewed fury. "You know about Paladin?" Kate was shocked. "Of course I know about Paladin. I was married to a dragon," Johanna countered with equal emotion. "Your father buried his dragon when you became too old for him to hide who he was easily. We only went out to the cabin at Christmas, I never saw him turn himself into a dragon again. I never flew on his back ever again, but it never stopped me from loving him, or you."

"Your father was never sorry that we had you. Giving up being a dragon was a small price to pay in his mind. You were worth it, you were our daughter. A little piece of each of us. Though you're maybe a larger piece of your father than we both thought. If Paladin is here, you need to leave Katie." Johanna didn't want to lose her, certainly not see her die. Kate shook her head. "They're all dead," she informed her. "It doesn't matter Katie, they'll just send more. They will never stop, ever," Johanna warned her.

"I came over here to pack," Kate said and picked up the book and ran upstairs to pack enough for a week. She tried to pack as quickly as she could, but the emotions of today were getting to her. Rick and Alexis were almost killed. She herself had killed at least 5 men, she was a dragon and her father had been a dragon. Overwhelmed, she sat on the bed crying. Kate lost track of time until she heard Patch barking just for a moment. The dog's barking had her reaching for her weapon that wasn't there. "They're out near my car along with my uniform." Still she didn't know who was downstairs.

' _Rick?'_ Kate queried. _'We're downstairs, we need to hurry,'_ he replied. She relaxed and went back to packing. She threw the book her mother had given her, some panties, a couple bras, some toiletries, a little make-up, and several changes of clothes in a suitcase. She raced downstairs to find Rick asking Johanna to look after Midas and Maggie while they were gone. She also saw a 50 pound bag of dog food and a case of canned dog food sitting on top of it. Who she didn't see was Alexis and she couldn't help it...her heart froze for a moment out of sheer fear for her. "We need to go Kate, Alexis is in the truck waiting," he told her which had her breathing again when she didn't even realize she had stopped.

Johanna hugged her. "Please be careful Katie and take care of these two. They're good for you and you have more power than you know." Johanna squeezed her tight and blinked back tears. "We'll return when we think it's safe Mom, I promise." Kate hugged her back.

Rick took her bag and Kate followed him outside. "You brought the trailer?" She was shocked. She hadn't even thought about taking the motorhome. "I thought we might need it. I even emptied the refrigerator in the house and tossed it all into the one in the trailer. It's why we're a little late." Rick left off the melt down that Alexis had. Kate didn't need to know about that right now.

"I have keys, I can bring the motorhome," Kate offered as she watched him throw her suitcase into his bed and put the cover back down. "No need, I have space, food, and my tanks are full including the truck," Rick told her then got behind the wheel and buckled up. Kate still thought it might be a good idea but they did need to leave and the trailer had enough space. So she clambered into the truck. "Hi Alexis, how are you?" she asked her. But when she looked back at her, she scrambled out of the front seat and into the back seat where she could wrap an arm around Alexis.

Rick turned around and turned left onto US85 and headed north. He really didn't know if this was a good idea or a bad one. His father just might turn out to be worse than Paladin.

Kate was silent and was holding an equally silent Alexis. Rick had never been more grateful for Kate than he was now. His little girl was hurting and he **had** to drive. If it was just them, they would both be alone.

"There's your car." Rick pointed out the windshield. "Stop Rick, please stop," she suddenly asked him. He pulled over to the right on the other side of her patrol car. Kate got out and Rick followed her leaving Alexis behind. "What are we doing out here. We don't need the car or anything in it that I can think of," he said curiously. Except Kate didn't walk to the car, she began walking out in front of the car back the way they came.

"I'm trying to find what's left of my uniform," she told him, which had him wondering if Kate had cracked under the pressure of the day's happenings. "I was carrying two weapons and spare rounds on me and I want them. We might need them," Kate said which convinced Rick to look with her. "Is one a small revolver?" Rick asked and held what he found up. "That's one. Now where is the other one?" She found her belt with the bug in it, took the spare rounds off of it, then dropped the belt. "Damn it where are…there you are!" Kate picked it up and blew dust off of it. "Can we go now?" He didn't like being out in the open with Alexis all alone in the truck.

Rick was soon back to driving with Kate in back holding onto Alexis again. He had the revolver while Kate had her Glock and the spare rounds for it. Alexis looked up at Kate with a face that broke her heart. "We'll be fine sweetie. We're going someplace where those bad men can never find us again. Besides your father and I will never let anything happen to you again. You have a really big powerful bear and a dragon to protect you."

"Sweetheart, please tell me that you don't still think that you are a monster. Because I can promise you that you are not. The person who said that didn't know what she was talking about." Kate really wanted Alexis to believe her, it was important. Alexis however only looked down at her hands. "Oh sweetie." Kate wiped away her tears. She was going to prove that Alexis wasn't a monster if it killed her.

Kate noticed that the woods were getting a little thicker. "Better be ready Rick. Last time I came through here two quads came bursting out of the trees one on each side and blocked the road forcing me to stop. Both of them were heavily armed and were wearing armored vests," she warned him.

It was only about 10 minutes later when what happened to Kate happened to him, forcing him to stop. Rick, however, remained in the truck and waited for one to approach him while the other one kept his automatic weapon trained on them. "There is a turnaround just ahead. This is private property and you will be turning around and going back the way you came," he ordered Rick. Kate however noticed that neither of them were the same men as last time.

Rick pulled out his wallet and handed over his driver's license. "I'm Richard Rodgers, I'm here to see my father." What Rick wanted to say was 'I am Rick Rodgers and I'm here to see his Majesty. You know, your master, slave.' The guard handed his driver's license back to him and waved to the other guy to let them pass.

Kate got to see a few trails lead off the road and out into the woods but didn't see any buildings yet. They both watched as a large van drove up to them, turned right, and went down a small blacktop road. "Shift change at the mine," Rick explained. "What are they mining" Kate questioned. "It started out as a strip mine for coal until a test result came back with something more lucrative. Uranium. They do still dig for coal but it's taken a back seat to uranium." It occurred to Kate that he would know about everything that went on here. After all his father had tried to beat everything into him. Plus Rick likely knew everything for when he slipped out and went to New York.

They finally started to see a few buildings here and there. There was even a sign that told them when they had crossed from Wyoming into South Dakota. It was now that they suddenly found themselves in what felt like a town. Except that every building seemed to have been built around the trees which were still everywhere. Rick literally drove them right through the middle of town. Not that he had a choice if he was going to his father's mansion. "WOW!" Kate was twisting her head looking everywhere.

The signs suggested they had everything any small town had. They were just starting to exit out of town when Rick pointed. "High school, middle school and elementary school," he explained. Kate was simply amazed. Each of the buildings looked new and the architecture was lovely. "You went to school here?" she asked and watched Rick nod.

She watched as he took a turn off onto a narrow blacktop road and watched him slow way down and pull far over to one side. Kate lowered her head to look out and forward. It was a short series of switchbacks. He was having just a little difficulty with the trailer they were towing. Still they were at the top and her eyes opened wide as her mouth dropped open. **"HOLY...!"** Kate exclaimed.

The house he was pulling up to was more mansion than house. It looked at lot like Rick's being that it was a log home too, but this place was massive. It appeared to be three stories tall. She could easily see the three car garage and the grand main entrance with the emphasis on grand. Rick pulled way off to one side in a manner that would allow him to turn around easily and go back down. "You grew up here?" she asked him and noticed that he didn't say anything. It was hurting Kate to think how he must be feeling about being back home again. A home that was filled with pain and not an ounce of love.

Rick got out and Kate decided to follow, bringing Alexis with her. "How many people live in this thing?" she inquired. "The last I knew, just my father and mother," he replied. That wasn't just possible. This place was massive. "The head of security lives in what you would call a mother-in-law suite that's attached to the main house," he added just as the front door opened and out walked a single male.

He kind of resembled Rick, just older with mostly grey hair and a short grey beard. He did not look happy. In fact, to Kate he looked ready for a fight. "You've got balls son and you're going to lose them," Hunt informed him. Rick watched closely and just as he thought his father was about to shift and rip his clothes to shreds, he held something up at eye level. "This mean anything to you?" Rick asked him. Hunt came up short and his attention was taken off Rick and onto what he was holding. Kate was so sure she was going to have to shift and defend her life mate and Alexis.

Hunt snatched it out of Rick's hand and studied it for a time. As he did, another man who was carrying an automatic weapon and was wearing an armored vest walked up behind him. Hunt took his eyes off of it and handed it to the man behind him and turned his attention back to Rick. "Paladin," the man behind Hunt stated. "We'll get to work on it, sir." And he walked off and started talking into the headset he was also wearing.

"You might as well come inside. Your mother is just about to start dinner," Hunt told him and turned his back on them as he walked back towards the house. "I'll have someone prepare your rooms, including one for the bastard," Hunt called over his shoulder.

"Dinner will be fine, but we'll be staying in the trailer," Rick informed him coolly which caused him to stop, turn his head, and growl. Then he just turned back around and resumed walking, disgusted with his son yet again.

The potential conflict appeared to be over. "What happened to his face?" Kate wondered aloud. She couldn't help but notice he had four really long scars slicing at an angle across the front of his face. They didn't look old but they weren't made yesterday either. "That would be me," Rick responded and began walking to the front door leaving a slack-jawed Kate holding onto Alexis behind him.


	32. Chapter 32

**CH32**

Kate followed Rick inside and found that it was as big inside as it was outside. The wall of windows was actually three floors tall and they gave anyone looking out a view of the city. "A lord looking out over his kingdom," Kate whispered while still holding onto Alexis.

Maybe it was the height that made the place look bigger than it was. The living room wasn't really all that much bigger than Rick's. The kitchen that she followed Rick into was a little bigger maybe, but not quite as nice. She gave credit to Oscar for that.

"Hello Mother," Rick said as he entered the kitchen. What Kate saw was a woman perhaps around 50 or so. She had a rail-thin body, even thinner than her's. Her hair was short and even redder than Alexis's hair. It gave her an idea of where Alexis got her hair color.

"Richard! It's good to have you finally home again! I knew you would come to your senses. You will be staying for dinner," Martha stated like Rick didn't have a choice."Don't get ahead of yourself Martha, Richard is only staying the night. In his trailer, and then leaving in the morning," Hunt announced to everyone. "No! Talk him out of it Jackson. He's our son, he should be staying here." Martha took great exception to this news. Rick leaned closer to Kate and whispered, "That's code to have my father beat me to force me to change my mind."

"RICHARD. You belong here with your own kind," Martha stated, having heard what her son had said.

"I've done my good deed and informed your husband that Paladin is in the area and likely coming here next. We'll be leaving in the morning," Rick informed her. Kate watched the shock appear on Martha's face who turned to her husband who had been unexpectedly silent. "It's all being taken care of Martha, there's nothing to worry about," Hunt assured her.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour. Is that…thing eating also?" Martha questioned as she halfheartedly motioned in Alexis's direction. Kate's blood began to boil. Were these two really that insensitive?

"No Mother. I would never subject my daughter to your cooking. I'll make her something out in the trailer," Rick replied which seemed to please Martha as she went back to her preparations for dinner.

"You hungry pumpkin? Let's go see if I can find something in the trailer," Rick said as he took her hand, leaving the kitchen and the house. Kate only paused to glare at those two, not trying to hide her disdain for them.

"Is it bad enough that he brings that thing into this house but did he have to bring his slut too?" Martha asked Hunt just as Kate was leaving. Kate was certain that she had said it loud enough for her to hear on purpose. "He should have stayed and married that nice girl that we picked out for him," Martha added.

Kate, however, didn't take the bait and followed Rick and Alexis outside. She caught up to Rick just as he was opening the refrigerator to see what he had as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry babe. I didn't really believe you about your parents. I never thought anyone's parents could be like that." She pressed her face into his back.

"Yeah, well welcome to my world," he said brusquely as he began pulling things out and setting them on the counter. She spun him around to face her. "Don't Rick. Please don't shut me out. I'm not the enemy here." Kate looked into his shuttered eyes. He grumbled and twisted his head from side to side. But she could see light returning to his eyes. Finally he rested his forehead against hers and looked her in the eye. She sighed, liking what she saw.

"I'm sorry, it's just those two…" Rick stopped talking when she kissed him then broke from the kiss. "I get it babe, I really do. If they refer to Alexis like that again I just might lose it myself." Kate smiled a bit unsteadily, partly because she really did fear that she would unleash her dragon on the two of them.

She gave him a quick kiss and moved over to Alexis. She wrapped her up in her arms and guided her over to the sofa to sit down. "Can you cook for all of us?" she asked him. Rick turned to look at her. "Sure, we have enough," he replied. "And can we leave after we eat?" She truly didn't want to stay here. She hated his parents and didn't want to give away that she was a dragon. Her request had Rick grinning. "I'll cook if you come up with where we're going to go." He turned back to the refrigerator. "The community has a grocery store. We can stock up there on our way out," he said.

"Actually I already have a thought about where to go. It just so happens to have a lake with boats we can rent." Kate was smiling while she gave him a hint. He was momentarily perplexed until a light bulb went off in his head. She was talking about the lake were they became life mates! "We can get wood and gas before we leave, too." Rick got busy cooking since he wanted out of there. He did his duty even if his father didn't deserve it. But the people in the community did.

They ate what he had quickly put together for their meal and left the dirty dishes stacked in the sink. Rick started up the truck and carefully made his way down the switchbacks and over to the grocery store. Kate and Alexis were walking through it with him; she was amazed. It really was a full service grocery store. There was a deli that actually had Chinese cooked on site that she couldn't resist, so she selected a number of things to take with them for later. It had a bakery where they baked their own bread, cookies, cakes, and countless other things. Kate grabbed some French bread, Kaiser rolls, and some whole grain sandwich bread. They filled their cart with much needed supplies. The cashier who checked them out knew Rick and commented that he hadn't known he was back. Everything that needed refrigeration was put away while everything else was left to be put away later.

Rick stopped at a gas station to fill up on his way out, including the gas can that had been for the riding lawnmower and to purchase logs that were already cut to size and split. Unlike their way in, they were not stopped on their way out. Still to get where Kate wanted to go, it meant going through Newcastle.

Hunt was on the phone when Martha approached him. "Where is Richard? Dinner has been ready for 15 minutes already," she said. However she could see her husband's blood start to boil as he listened to whomever he was on the phone with. When he ended the call he threw the phone against the far wall. "Richard and his sluts will not be joining us for dinner. They just drove through the outer boundary on their way out," Hunt snarled. He didn't know it was possible to be more disgusted and disappointed in his son until now. He swore to beat him to within an inch of his life next time they met. Richard would rule this place after he was gone and that was the end of it.

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The last time they were here Kate had driven her motorhome and drove right into the space. Rick was presently working on his 7th attempt at getting the trailer to go where he wanted it to while Kate stood behind it trying to guide him into position. "NO RICK, YOUR OTHER LEFT!" she yelled. It only took him three more tries before she decided it was good enough and they got to work leveling the trailer. Next came putting the dry goods away and taking some of their firewood out of the bed of Rick's truck. She soon found that his trailer and truck combined allowed for a lot of storage. Plus if they had her motorhome, they would be down to two scooters with which to go places. The pullouts were out, the awning was deployed even though the sun was going down, a folding table was put up and three of the four folding chairs were taken out of storage.

Just as the sun went down Rick started a fire, went into the trailer, and came out with marshmallows. Three appropriate sticks later and they were roasting marshmallows over an open fire. "Oh, so not fair," he moaned as he watched his almost done marshmallow fall off into the fire. Kate casually reached into the bag and threw another one at him so he could start over.

Kate kept her eyes on Alexis who seemed to be calming down and was smiling as she stuffed the partly burnt gooey goodness into her mouth and had Kate throw another at her. She decided to have some fun with Alexis so she threw another one at her followed by another, and another, and another. She soon had Alexis laughing as she tried to catch them and gave up trying to roast the next one. She giggled at Alexis and let her roast one of the ones she threw. Rick was also smiling while he watched Kate interact with his daughter. He was so very happy to have her as a life mate.

Tonight Kate tucked Alexis into the bed she had chosen to sleep in, which happened to be the one closest to their room. "Your father and I will be right here and since I'm a dragon I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Good night sweetheart." She kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

Kate stripped off her clothes and slid in next to Rick in their bed. "How is she?" He wanted her opinion. The fact that she had chosen the bed closest to them told him something and it wasn't good. "She's still scared Rick and a little ashamed of what she is I think," she remarked as she started doodling a finger over his chest. "I've been thinking," he said. "Good or bad thinking?" Kate queried. "Probably bad thinking. I think there were 4 Paladin members downstairs when I crashed through the glass. I'm pretty sure two of them were already down and bleeding out," he told her.

"Alexis was a bear when I found her, picked her up, and flew away with her. Are you thinking Alexis attacked those men and got two of them before you got there?" she asked. "She was in mortal danger and her bear took over and attacked them to protect her," Rick offered. "Would she have been aware of herself doing that as a bear?" Kate questioned. "It's hard to tell really. If Alexis simply went to sleep and let the bear take over, then not likely," he said. "But it **is** possible?" she persisted and watched him nod his head.

That got Kate up out of their bed. She grabbed a pair of panties and put them on then pulled out a sleep shirt. "Where are you going?" he asked. "If Alexis remembers even a portion of today and what she did, I'm betting she'll have nightmares tonight. I'm not leaving her out there all alone to suffer through them," she told him, which got Rick out of bed and putting on his boxers.

"Her little bed isn't going to fit all of us Rick," she pointed out. "No, but it will fit me, I think. You and Alexis can have the bed. Plus you just found out that you're a dragon, that you killed people as a dragon," he reminded her. "I've killed people before." Kate remembered each one, too. "As part of your job and likely in self-defense. This was different. Maybe you can keep each other from having nightmares. So you and Alexis are taking the bed and that's final," he said firmly. He started for the door only to be stopped by Kate. "You're a good man Rick, and a good father." And she kissed him.

Kate lifted up a relaxed but not yet asleep Alexis. "You're sleeping with me tonight sweetie. Your father is going to sleep out here." She was soon spooning Alexis close to her. "You're a big, brave, Kodiak bear and I need you to chase away my nightmares about what happened today," she told her as Alexis twisted and buried herself against Kate, face to face. "Okay," a small voice agreed. Kate kissed Alexis's cheek. "Go to sleep sweetie, I'll be right here," she said.

Rick soon found that he couldn't stretch out on this bed since he was too big for it. Still he had a fix for that. He went outside, dug into a storage bin and grabbed something, then went back inside. It took a few minutes of work, but he had a twin blow-up air mattress on the floor with sheets, a comforter, and his pillow. His feet hung out the end, but at least he could stretch out.

Kate woke instantly the second Alexis began to thrash about then started to whimper. "Alexis, you're fine. I promise. There is a big, brave, dragon who loves you standing right behind you. Can you feel her?" she asked her then kissed her head. "You're safe in her arms." Kate squeezed her a little closer. It wasn't immediate but Alexis did calm down slowly. Kate simply kissed her again and did her best to go back to sleep.

Hours later she realized Alexis was awake and started to open an eye to peek out, but something stopped her. _'She's pretending,'_ the voice in her head told her. That got Kate to keep her eyes closed and squirmed a little. "They're after me," Kate mumbled. "No, please," Kate started to whimper. "Mommy? I'm a big, brave, bear and I'll protect you." Kate was sure she had said "mommy" and felt Alexis move in a little closer. Kate couldn't help it, tears welled up in her eyes and fell on the sheets. "Please mommy don't cry. I'll save you," Alexis whispered and Kate felt Alexis kiss her head. Her heart started flipping. Alexis thought of her as mom and was willing to protect her as a bear.

Kate opened her eyes quickly and saw Alexis's face right in front of her. "Alexis?" she questioned. "Don't cry. I'll protect you," Alexis said softly. "My big, brave, bear is going to protect me?" Kate asked her and watched her nod. "Thank you." Kate reached out to kiss her head. "Bathroom and then into the shower?" she asked and started getting up with Alexis following her.

Outside the bedroom they found Rick lying on the floor curled up in a comforter as he snored softly. "He sounds like a bear, doesn't he?" she said quietly watching Alexis nod in agreement. "What shall we do to wake him up? How do you wake up such a big bear?" Kate asked. Alexis started to jump on Rick, when the bear, who had been faking it, suddenly reared up, caught her, and started tickling her. A laughing Alexis was soon begging, "Daddy stop!"

Rick stopped. "So I'm a big bear, am I?" he questioned his daughter while holding her down and watched her nod. "And what are you?" he asked her. "A brave bear," Alexis offered hesitantly not sure if that was the right thing. He immediately began smiling. "I'm really sorry pumpkin. I should have told you that you were my brave little bear a long time ago. I'm so very sorry." He kissed her head and wiped away his tears.

"How about we wash our brave little bear?" he suggested. "I'll do it if you want to start on breakfast," Kate offered. "What does our brave bear want for breakfast?" He turned to look at Alexis. "Pancakes," she said. "With chocolate chips?" Rick asked, smiling as Alexis grinned and nodded.

Kate had her use the toilet first then helped her shower since she was used to a tub. Once Kate and Alexis were clean and dressed with recently brushed teeth, they were sitting at the table eating their chocolate chip pancakes swimming in maple syrup.

After breakfast Kate was outside talking with Alexis underneath the awning while Rick showered and got dressed.

A walk through the woods was next. "Think there are any bears around here?" Rick asked grinning at Alexis. Alexis simply nodded and poked her finger into his stomach."ME? You think I'm a bear?" Rick didn't believe it, it wasn't possible. "What kind of bear am I?" Rick inquired only to have Alexis shrug her shoulders. "Your father is a Kodiak bear sweetie. A big, brave, Kodiak bear, just like you," Kate informed her. "But you're a dragon," Alexis pointed out. "Yes, I am - a big, brave, purple dragon," she told her. Though Kate was still coming to terms with being a dragon and what her mother had told her.

"Babe, Dad was run over by a drunk who was so blitzed that it was a miracle he was awake let alone driving. And Mom told me that Dad's parents were killed in a home gas explosion…" Kate was interrupted by Rick. "You're wondering if Paladin had something to do with both of those actions." He finished her thought for her. She nodded. "A gas explosion I can understand but if the accident wasn't an accident. How do you make it look like one?" She queried.

"You're a writer, how would you write it?" Kate asked him. He had imagination, how did a person so drunk he should be unconscious run down her father? "I have him in the car with me so that he shows injuries after the real driver runs down your father using people on the street or other cars to coordinate exactly where he is. I run him over and crash a little ways away right next to the people helping me. They get me out, move him over and inject him with something to wake him up enough for the cops to arrest him."

"His breath reeks of alcohol, the car itself reeks of alcohol and the best part - he has enough DUIs to fill a filing cabinet. Even better, he's had his license revoked and shouldn't even be driving. So drunk he gets into fights in bars. I get him good and drunk and almost literally carry him to his car."

"It's cut and dried. A known drunk driving without a license who is just conscious enough to prove that he is drunk. Your father never sees it coming." Rick offered his story that's tied up in a neat bow.

Kate walked over to Rick and took his arm while they walk. "I confronted my mom about being a dragon. She told me dad was an evil black dragon who did his best to not be evil," she told him. "He buried his dragon and didn't listen to it anymore. His dragon might have seen it coming, maybe. But he had silenced it," Rick said. "Silenced it?" she questioned.

"The two of you are one, however you each have a voice. In his case, a human voice who doesn't want to be bad and a dragon voice who does. Think of it as a voice only you can hear. Usually the two of you want the same thing, but that isn't always the case," Rick told her.

"A voice," she whispered. "You've heard yours haven't you? A voice in your head." He looked at Kate. She nodded. "Does it still talk to you?" he asked. "Sometimes." Kate kept it simple. There was no way she was going to tell him that her dragon had been hounding her for days, weeks, to get her to kiss him and make love to him.

Was she bonded to him because of her dragon? Kate shook her head. No, she knew she loved him. Her dragon was just along for the ride. "Babe, does this mean that I transferred chemicals and hormones to you when we became bonded?" she asked him. It took Rick a moment to catch up to the question. "It does actually. It means we're even more closely bonded than I thought."


	33. Chapter 33

**CH33**

Joanne was sitting in what amounted to their office. Mostly it was just laptop computers connected to Sarah. Serena didn't want a paper trail for anything. If there was a piece of paper it was scanned and downloaded into Sarah then run through the crosscut shredder, effectively turning it into confetti. Don came running into the room. "Serena and the others are back," he told her.

"It's about time." She picked up the tablet and ran for the garage. Serena and three others had gone into Sedona to get groceries. Their refrigerator and freezers were running a little low. She stopped at the doorway 'til she spotted Serena unloading bag after bag into a cart out of one of the two Land Rovers that they had. They also had three quads and an ultra-light along with a number of bicycles and one dirt bike.

Joanne stepped up to the back of the Land Rover. "We got a call from Carol and an update from Michael," Joanne told her. Serena dropped a bag into the cart that was now full and being pushed away. "What did Carol say?" Serena figured it would be bad news. "She overheard that Eric was informed that the raid on the Rodgers residence was a complete failure," Joanne remarked.

"Well, thanks to Hayley we already knew that. We also know Hayley and her clan are following them. If they're right Rodgers is doing something stupid." Serena couldn't believe that he would go to his father who was just as likely to take him and lock him up than anything else, like help him. "Carol overheard that just before Eric dumped her." Joanne delivered the bad news.

"GOD DAMN IT! …MEN! I sometimes wonder what I ever saw in them." Serena questioned her sexual history then stepped over to hug Joanne who hugged her back. Joanne was happy to soak up any of Serena's anguish about her past. Serena, after a moment, pulled back and kissed Joanne's forehead. "Please tell me there's good news," Serena pleaded. That was when she could swear Joanne started dancing a little. "Michael sent in his final report. The site in question that he and his clan have found is just what he thought it was when he made his initial report." Joanne was bubbling over with happiness. **"YES!"** Serena shot her hand up into the air. "Please tell me all of this is already downloaded into Sarah," Serena asked her. "Like you had to ask?" Joanne smirked.

Seconds later they were both sitting in front of the TV with four others of the house after Serena walked in and commandeered it. "Let's see it Sarah," Serena asked. Since Serena didn't say what she wanted to see, Sarah was forced to hypothesize on what Serena meant, though she projected an 86% probability that she would be right.

Michael popped up on the screen. "Final report for your action," he stated. "We have sat on window sills for months now and are convinced that this site, see attachment for map location, is the holding site for several mountain lion members." Serena paused the playback. "Go find everyone else, and make it fast," she ordered. In seconds there were the entire 10 members of the house staring at the TV as Serena hit Play.

"We have accounted for all of the missing mountain lion clan plus an additional 12 members that we can't identify," Michael informed them. "Twelve more?" Joanne was confused. They were only missing two. "While it wasn't easy we have managed to plant a number of cameras and microphones at every window of the facility. Every minute of surveillance has been attached to this report," Michael advised and Serena paused it again. "Sarah confirm, please," she called out. "Confirmed, I have already begun playback at an increased speed," Sarah responded.

Serena resumed play on the report. "None of us have any medical training however even to us it appears that they have found a way to convert humans into mountain lions who are capable of shifting." Serena paused it again and Joanne slapped a hand over her mouth while the others were talking to each other in low whispers. "Why the hell would they do that? I thought they wanted all shifters dead, not make more of them!" she was very perplexed and restarted the report.

"We have noted that the site also has an incinerator and based on samples taken from the discharge of the stack and analyzed, they appear to be mountain lion in nature." Michael stated and Serena paused it yet again. "They have found a way to convert humans into mountain lions making them shifters, I assume, and they're killing them? That makes no sense." Serena didn't understand and hit Play again.

"There is a room deep inside the building that we couldn't reach. However one of us has seen several mountain lions being wheeled towards this room only to have it come back out and wheeled directly to the incinerator. A study of what we have recorded will hopefully provide an explanation of what is happening. We strongly suggest that a raid of this facility be planned. Be advised that there is security in place and is part of the attached videos. Take note that this is obviously a Paladin operation and they will likely have access to the fighter aircraft that are stationed at Luke Air Force Base. The 944th Fighter Wing which is made up of F-16s is stationed there. Transport for evacuation is advised." His video report ended.

There was a lot of talking going on behind Serena. "Okay, okay, settle down. Sarah, analysis of the videos sent?" Serena asked her, hoping that she was done viewing everything they sent.

"The site itself is located several miles outside of Phoenix, Arizona," Sarah began. "No fricking way! That places it right in our own backyard." Serena didn't understand how they missed that place all these years. "There appears to be a contingent of 48 guards that work in 3 teams of 16 that are broken up into 3 shifts night and day," Sarah continued. "At any one time there are a minimum of three guards on the roof. They clearly have access to Stinger missiles, rockets such as RPGs or the American equivalent. In addition one of them is a sniper using a Barrett 82A1 that fires a .50 caliber round with a capable range of 2 miles. All of them carry automatic rifles, hand guns, and are wearing combat vests. Containers holding gas masks and chemical suits are evident," Sarah told them. "It appears that the location has a total of 356 personnel who work in two shifts. Only between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 am do they not have any working personnel in the building," she added.

"And what are they doing exactly?" Serena just knew she wasn't going to like this. "Analysis of the videos suggest that they are converting humans into mountain lions so that they can create an agent that is airborne which is capable of killing only mountain lion shifters. The conversion process is less dangerous than actually capturing shifters. They then subject these mutants to the gas to determine if the gas is acting correctly," Sarah explained.

"So they can convert humans into shifters, in this case mountain lions?" Serena questioned. "For a short period according to the videos. The process appears to be unstable resulting in the death of the subject." Sarah began displaying one such failure.

It was a male in his early 20s maybe. "Hey that's Jarod," one of them spoke up. "Negative, video imagery suggests that they are using a modified cloning technique to create their test subjects," Sarah corrected the thought. "I thought you said they were converting humans into mountain lions?" Joanne countered. "There is a lot of video to process, I was in error," Sarah stated.

They watched the naked male turn himself into a mountain lion several times over what looked like a long period of time. Finally he was in his mountain lion form when black lesions started to form on his body. "According to data on the video taken of their computer screens, those lesions are not the black death," Sarah informed them all. Still more black lesions formed all over the body as the first ones started to discharge some kind of white pus. As the later lesions started this discharge, the first ones began bursting. There was no sound as part of the recording, for which everyone was eternally thankful, since it was obvious from his face and open mouth he was in great pain. He eventually ended up on the floor lying in a puddle of pus from the burst lesions, obviously dead. The video ended and was replaced with a map of the building's location.

"That was disgusting. And they call us monsters! MY GOD!" one of them behind Serena exclaimed. "Please my love, this has got to stop!" Joanne pleaded with Serena.

"Someone take the Air Force Base. I want to know how long it takes to get a pair of F-16s off the ground and out to this site. Someone else take the perimeter outside of the security fence. I want to know every building in the area, even if it's just an outhouse. Someone else figure out how long it takes to take one of those Stingers out of a case, set it up, and fire it. Someone else, I want to know everything about the materials that building is constructed of. Concrete block, tilt up panels or simple wood frame. Someone get Sarah to show you the videos of the guards, what they do, and where they go. Do they have dirt bikes, quads, or do they all walk? Do they walk the perimeter ever?" Serena ordered.

"So we're going to hit this place?" Joanne asked her. "We are going to get our two mountain lions back and bring them home where they belong. Then we're going to blow that place to hell and gone then burn what's left of it to the ground. So yes, my love, we are, as you say, going to hit it," Serena stated matter of factually. Joanne hugged her as her heart learned to love Serena just that much more.

"Who ever thought an unassuming clan of shifter pigeons could be so very good at being spies?" Serena chuckled into Joanne's hair as they hugged each other. The group had to admit when Michael had first come to them with his idea, most of them thought he was nuts. Everyone but Serena, and now they were on the verge of getting 2 of their own back.

Serena let go of Joanne and started to get up. "Where are you going?" Joanne questioned. "Shopping. We don't have nearly enough Semtex to blow that place to the moon. Plus I need to check on our stock of .50 cal ammunition for the Bat Chopper as you people call her." Serena couldn't believe the name of her V-22 that they had come up with. She was just glad they hadn't given it a number like the Thunderbirds did and if anyone ever said, "Thunderbirds are Go," or even worse, "Yes, Milady," she was going to shoot them.

She also needed to make a few phone calls. Ten people, nine of them mountain lions, weren't going to be nearly enough either.

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Serena had just landed after going shopping and was opening the ramp when Joanne jumped in cat form and quickly changed. "We have a problem," Joanne stated. "What sort of problem?" She had just acquired all the Semtex they would ever likely need for that building along with several thousand rounds of .50 cal for the machine guns that were mounted to this thing.

"Michael just sent an update about our target building," Joanne told her. They really should have given it some cool code name instead of calling it target building. Still they had almost 3 weeks to finish planning and launch their assault. "Our target building is going to have visitors in two days. Michael thinks it might be one or more members of the Paladin Council," Joanne explained in a rush.

"The bastard couldn't wait at least 2 weeks?" Serena was exasperated at the news. "Two days is definitely a problem." Still she couldn't pass up a chance to take out one or more members of the council. "Go get the others, we need to start planning instead of preparing. Meet me in the living room," Serena instructed her and left the ramp down since it all needed to be unloaded.

"There's more." Joanne did not look happy. "He or they are coming with their own security force," she told her. Serena sighed heavily. "Any more bad news?" Might as well get it all over with. Serena thought. "Just one. Eric hasn't as yet selected his new… bed partner." Joanne couldn't think of a better word to use.

"Do we have anyone in his favorite escort service?" Serena asked. "Just two. Mandy is a brunette and Michele is a redhead. Both were added the same day he dumped Carol," Joanne told her. "So they're new and he hasn't seen them before. Maybe he'll pick one of them. Hopefully not both of them at the same time. Have we sent Carol our 'thank you for your services gift?'" Serena asked. "Yes, she's been booked for a 5 day, 4 night stay on Waikiki Beach at the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu followed by a 7 day, 6 night cruise around the Hawaiian Islands in a one bedroom suite, along with a Visa card with $500 thousand on it for a whole new wardrobe to take with her on the trip, or buy it when she gets there," Joanne stated, wishing she was going.

"Good, maybe she'll get lucky and meet her life mate in Hawaii. Stranger things have happened. …Oh, one more thing. I had planned to spring this on you after we do this, but since it has been moved up several days," Serena paused for affect, "I booked us our own cruise. Seven days and six nights sailing the Caribbean in a one bedroom suite. St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, and somewhere else I think. Sun, sand, and surf with you in a bikini all week long, since that's all I'm allowing you to pack." Serena kissed her quickly and walked to the living room, leaving Joanne a puddle of goo on the floor.

Serena had all the major players of this little operation assembled in her house. "Thanks to some unexpected visitors we have moved our time table up several days. As a result we have a few holes that we're just going to have to deal with. One is we don't know what the building is made of. It doesn't look like wood studs for the exterior walls however the interior ones might be. We also have no information on the F-16s stationed at Luke Air Force Base which Joanne and I will have to deal with if they show is the unknown size of the security detail will be coming with our guests."

"It looks like two of the five Paladin council members will be making a visit and this is something that we can't pass up. Losing these two won't cripple them, but it will at least hurt. Jonathon, I want you with the Barrett out here on this little knoll. The entire area is rather flat and this is about the highest place there is save for the building itself. The closest mountain is too far away. I want you to take out the two guards at the main entrance just as the first bus busts through. You're going to have the dirt bike and a backpack filled with supplies. Wipe down the Barrett and leave it. Take the dirt bike and go anywhere you like. Camp out under the stars if you want. Just do not head for town." Serena got a nod. "And do not leave until the last bus has cleared the fence."

"There will be two buses that will transport everyone up to the building." Serena pulled up a picture. "Church buses?" someone questioned. "Who would suspect a group of churchgoers who are not heavily armed to be attacking them? One bus stops here and the other one will stop here." Serena pointed to positions on the map. "Exit the bus out the front and back and do everything as quickly as is feasible. We want the guards dead as fast as possible. Each of you will have a backpack that will have four separate charges of Semtex inside. Spread out, lock the employees inside if you can, plant each device, and set the timer. Each will be preset so all you have to do is turn it on."

"Thanks to Michael we have a good idea of where our two missing lions are being held. Keith, you and your team will locate and extract them to the bus. The first bus will signal and that's when Joanne and I will move from where we will be waiting on this side of the little mountain here. We will pull the Osprey…" Serena was interrupted, "Bat Chopper." She sighed. "We will come around the mountain and hit the guards on the roof just as the first bus hits the front gate."

"We'll swing around quickly and you 9 will exit onto the roof. We will then swing back around and clear the front entrance of any opposition allowing the buses to park. Get in find our people, plant the explosives, and get out. The buses will go further out into the desert to this spot here where you will find another two buses waiting for you." Serena pulled up a photo of the new bus. "Now that's a bus," someone commented.

"You are now two tour buses filled with sightseers headed for Tucson. From there you will split up a little. Some will fly to Phoenix on a commercial puddle jumper, some will rent a car and drive to Phoenix, and some will stay on the bus then go to a hotel and ride on the bus(es) for Phoenix the next day. From Phoenix you make your way home." Serena laid out the plan.

"What about the F-16s?" Serena was asked. "We have someone already near the base watching for any flights. If any flights do leave Joanne and I will be alerted. The 'Bat Chopper,'" Serena gave in to the name and everyone smiled. "will be armed with the twin .50 cals, two Hellfire rockets, two heat seekers, and two radar missiles. The .50 cals and the Hellfires are for the guards on the roof and anything out front. The rest are for when or if the F-16s show up."

"Fortunately the F-16s will likely be armed for air combat, not someone low and slow like me. They even attempt to come down to my level and Joanne and I will pounce on them like any good mountain lion should." That got a few laughs. "If we do this right and have a little luck, the most we'll have is a few wounds to lick. Paladin, however, will be out a pair of council members, one top secret research facility, and the scientists and others that work in that nightmare of a building."

"I don't need to remind everyone not to leave anyone behind. That building is going to be dust when those explosives blow that will settle into one big hole in the ground. We want our two back, not to lose any more. Take a nap, we mount up and get moving in a few hours. Except for you, Jonathon, you need to leave now since you have the farthest to go. The pickup with your bike and backpack already loaded is out front waiting for you. You need to take out those two guards and anyone else that unexpectedly shows up at the front gate. You're also the back-up to the explosives in case any of the timers on the devices fail," Serena informed him. He knew he had a big job ahead of him, though he was kind of looking forward to a night out in the desert. Maybe even do a little hunting for his dinner instead of cook it.

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Jonathon was ready and already lying down in the dirt just at the top of his little knoll. Serena wasn't kidding when she said it was small. He saw three cars all parked at the front doors. He was betting one of them was armored making the other two cars security. There were also two heavily armed guards just inside the glass doors. He turned his attention to the two guards at the front gate. Those two looked like stupid rent-a-cops. All they had were small side arms.

He saw the two buses rolling down the road. As they got closer one of the rent-a-cops moved to his door while the other sat there. Just as the bus started to turn he put a round right through rent-a-cop's chest. He heard the spent casing eject and lined up on the other rent-a-cop who had just got up and put a round through his chest, too.

Jonathon switched back to the two just inside the doors and quickly put a round into each of them.

"It's time," Serena told Joanne and tilted the rotors level to turn them into a plane versus the helicopter they had been while waiting on the other side of their little mountain. Several minutes later Joanne was looking at her screens while Serena piloted. "We're behind schedule a little. The first bus is headed for the building already. The three guards are already lined up along the front parapet wall," Joanne told her using her video zoom camera mounted on the front.

"Maybe that's a good thing, they're not looking our way," Serena commented and added more power. She wanted to be there now! "I think they've heard us," Joanne informed her as she watched one of the men move to a case. "He's going for a Stinger most likely," Joanne warned her. Serena added altitude and then pointed down on him. "Hellfire!" Serena called out, which had Joanne lining up on the guy and the case, released the safety, then pressed the toggle forward. "Missile away," Joanne called, as both of them watched the smoke trail of the missile as it hit the roof blowing a hole in it, launching 3 dead bodies off it.

Serena was coming in hot straight for the roof; she tilted the rotors and started to spin them. "Open the back," Serena told Joanne who flipped a switch to get the back ramp to start opening. Serena was using the thrust in a new direction and the tilt of the rotors to slow way down over what was left of the roof. Joanne turned her body to look in the cargo bay and watched 9 mountain lions leap out the back. "They're clear," Joanne advised her.

Serena spun the "Bat Chopper" and leaned forward to go out into the front parking area and spun again to face the building. Starting with the right corner Serena pressed the button on her stick and opened up with her twin .50 cals. She simply spun in place to rake the front first floor using her twin GAU-19/B .50 cal Gatling guns. The rate of fire was selectable at the time of firing, 1,000 or 2,000 rounds per minute. Serena wasn't afraid of needing the rounds later so she selected 2,000.

Still by the time she had reached the far corner, she had expended those 2,000 rounds leaving her with another 2,000 on board. Jonathon had the front so she swung around to the back where she watched and listened. Before she did she watched the 2 church buses (school buses) park where directed and disgorged 23 angry mountain lions out the front door and the emergency door out the back of each bus. Each mountain lion was carrying a bag in their teeth. The windows on the ground floor were already gone so it looked like a swarm entering through them, end to end.

Jonathon was trying to watch the entire front of the building for targets when he saw three men come out what was left of the front door. The one in the middle was wearing a suit, while the two on either side had weapons and armored vests, so he put a round through the man in the middle followed by putting around into the chest of the man on his right. The other man was running to re-enter the building when Jonathon put a round in his back. "That better have been one of the council members," he said, smiling grimly.

Serena was sitting just a few feet off the ground watching one end as well as the entire back side of their 3 story building and not seeing much. That was when Joanne held her headset closer to her head. "Michael says some of his clan have just monitored a heavily modified twin turboprop leaving an outlying small airfield," Joanne informed her.

"Mercenary with his own modified plane. Sometimes I wonder if my head is actually screwed on right. Of course they wouldn't send F-16s. Why involve the military if they don't have to? Keep everything nice, quiet, and secret." Serena shook her head and started adding power to gain altitude and then banked hard. "Where are we going?" Joanne questioned.

"He's faster than us and he's probably armed with a Gatling gun and missiles. If we have been identified, and I'm betting we have been, he knows he's faster and that we most likely can't turn quickly enough to use our guns on him, so if I was him I'd make high speed runs on us until he kills us or runs out of ammunition. The building is big enough for us to hide behind so that's where I would look for us. So we're going to hide behind our little mountain again," Serena explained because she had other plans.

It only took a few minutes but now they were sitting on the other side of the mountain from the building again, only this time they were up high and sitting a lot closer to it. Serena had them actually facing it. Now this Osprey (aka Bat Chopper) actually had two radar systems. It had a really big nose where one of the radar dishes was located along with the two GAU-19/Bs. In addition it had a retractable mini dish on top just like the one the Longbow Apache helicopter had at the top of the rotor mast. It was capable of extending to just under the turning of the blades while acting as a helicopter. This was the system that Joanne had deployed and was presently watching intently. "Here he comes," she announced. "Moving fast and not even 50 feet off the ground."

Okay, a skilled mercenary Serena thought. "Almost…almost." Joanne was watching her screen and had her fingers ready with the safeties already off. "NOW!" she yelled and Serena added power and popped up over the top of her mountain. Joanna fired off a heat seeker followed seconds later by a Sparrow radar guided missile.

Serena twisted so they could watch. What they saw was a twin turboprop fire off several flares, followed by another set, then followed by third set all as he made a hard banking left turn. "Definitely modified," Serena commented as they watched the heat seeker fall for the flares and blow up in the middle of nowhere while their Sparrow radar guided missile flew straight and narrow and hit nothing.

"That does it, no more of this American made shit. Next time we're buying Russian." If Serena knew how to curse in Russian she would have. "And I bet you think you're pretty sneaky too don't you?" Serena remarked and simply hopped over to the other side of her mountain, hiding yet again.

"He's going around really wide," Joanne told her. "He's not going to repeat the same mistake; we're down to one missile each and 2,000 rounds," Selena said. "He's not, he's going out way wide. It'll put him on the other side of the building," Joanne told her not understanding why he would do that.

"He takes out those buses up front and we're trapped here," Serena said bleakly and banked hard, then altered her props. Serena was now going as fast as she could with the props at a 45 degree pitch as she went down the outside of the building barely above the ground.

Joanne had faith but they were really close to the ground. "So is he," Serena pointed out as though she could read her mind. "Get ready to fire our last heat seeker," Serena ordered her. Joanne didn't get it but she put him on her screens and when she had tone... "Wait my love, just wait," Serena told her. "MISSILE WARNING!" Joanne screamed. They had just seconds.

"Fire and hang onto your ass," Serena told her. Joanne fired the heat seeker that still had tone. Serena added 100% power and it felt like they launched straight up. She spun just a little, pitched up just a little, and started firing flares as she climbed. She also started firing the GAU-19B out into open space to their left and up a little.

His heat seeker tried to take out some of their flares and hit the building instead then exploded. Against a plane a heat seeker can do some real damage. Against a building made up of 12" structural concrete block walls, not so much. Yes, the building was damaged, but not that much.

Their heat seeker also followed his flares and exploded in space far behind him. However as Joanne watched he banked hard. Because he was too low to the ground he had to go up to prevent his wing tip from hitting the ground, causing him to what he did do was turn to his right and up, and flew right through the hundreds of rounds that Selena was pumping out. The rounds nearly cut his plane in half as he quickly crashed into the desert.

"Well, I'll be… How did you know which way he would turn?" Joanne asked her. "Partly luck and partly that the mountain was to his left. It would force him to turn even tighter to avoid it and it would place him on the wrong side of the building to take out our buses," Serena replied.

No matter how you cut it, he was dead and they were alive. Serena went back to the back of the building and didn't leave until she saw the buses pull out. She flew up to the roof where Joanne dropped the ramp and in bounded 9 mountain lions. Serena started flying to the opposite side of the mountain to wait out the explosion. "We have a problem." One of the lions came forward. "Henry and Amy are injured, badly," they were both informed.

"It's over an hour to get home," Serena told him, only to see him shake his head. They weren't going to last that long. That had her thinking. "Most hospital helicopter pads can't handle our weight. And even if it could and there wasn't already a helicopter sitting on it, we would draw the interest of the local authorities, let alone what they would do to Henry and Amy." Serena started cursing. She needed something else, somewhere outside of the middle of Phoenix. Then she took off and flew as fast as she could while circling around Phoenix to get to a certain section of town. In this case it was the outskirts of Paradise Valley.

"I know someone, get them ready. Ten minutes," she told them then landed hard and fast just outside of a large estate home that was surrounded by a low wall. She had just barely missed landing in a pool in their backyard and killed all power as Joanne opened the ramp.

"Hi Lee, Francine. I need a favor," Serena asked as four humans, two for each person, carried a naked human bleeding badly down the ramp.


	34. Chapter 34

**CH34**

I'm on vacation for a week with no cell or internet connection available. So this will be your last update for just over a week. February 8, 2016. St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Maarten. Yes i know i should have kept that part to myself. So sue me.

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Rick, Kate, and Alexis were all standing at the shore line of the lake while he tried to teach Alexis how to skip rocks across the lake. The best Rick had done so far was a couple of skips while Alexis would throw them in and, "Ker-plop!" They'd go in and sink to the bottom first thing. "Keep trying, it takes lots of practice," Rick told her and left her to her practice while he stepped back to join Kate who was smiling while watching.

"I still don't understand how you can be this marvelous, sweet, and wonderful man and father after what your parents put you through." She was still amazed. From what she had seen Rick should be a vicious monster ten times worse than even his father was. "Mostly I vowed to be the exact opposite of my father. The more he beat me, the more I turned inward and plotted my escape. I suppose I'm lucky that I liked writing or being outside of the community might have been worse than staying," he tried to explain.

Kate took hold of his arm with both hands. "I hate to bring this up, but we need to go home and clean it soon or the stench of the dead bodies may never come out," she said hesitantly. "Plus the longer the blood has to soak into the wood floors the more likely the stain will never come out."

"I just wish I knew what the right thing to do was. Obviously they found me and wanted to capture Alexis for some reason. If it weren't for you they would have probably succeeded. There were just too many of them. Should we go home and clean and wait for the next attempt? Go home and clean then sell it and move again? We need to think of your mother, too. If they've been watching long enough they'll know about you, your mother, and maybe even Oscar." He just didn't know what was the right thing to do.

"Mom has her restaurant that she wants to open, and she's happy here. Plus I think she likes Oscar," Kate said. "I'll let you in on a little secret. Oscar likes your mother more than just a little bit. You should have seen him after his wife, Eileen, died. It wasn't pretty. He seems to light up every time he comes here. You might have a step-father in your future," he suggested. Kate looked up at him and away from Alexis who was still not having much luck. "You think so?" Her father hadn't even been gone a year yet. "Oh, he's not going to pop the question tomorrow or even next month, but yeah, if she doesn't scare him off I can see him coming out here a lot," Rick remarked.

"Mom isn't moving back to New York." Kate saw a problem if Oscar was thinking that. _'And when is he going to ask us?'_ her dragon asked, which made Kate's heartbeat increase. Since they were bonded they were practically already married. They just needed a piece of paper and a ring to make it official.

"He might even decide to move here. Gut your house and remodel it completely from the ground up. Or he might build her a new one out here somewhere or in town," Rick offered. "You think he'd move for her?" Kate was curious as to what Rick thought. After all he knew Oscar best. "He already works from home a lot. Get your mother to explain what his apartment looks like," he chuckled lightly.

They were silent for a while as each was in their own head. "Rick, you could sell your house. Create a new name and sell it to yourself. That way when Paladin looks up the house they'll find it sold to someone else," she said. "Won't they just come out to see who it is and see me?" He shot her idea full of holes. "Not if we go to someplace like Waco, Texas. Buy an airline ticket in your name and another one back in your new name. While you're there you'll buy a $10 grand piece of junk that really needs to be torn down. Maybe 6 months later you put it up for sale and are willing to sell it for the same $10 grand or less. After those 6 months you disappear," she submitted. "And what about you and your mother?" Rick didn't want them hurt.

"We're not officially married, we were just dating and then you moved away and I never saw you again. Simple," she said. "So I change my name again?" he persisted. "Only the house will be in a new name. You'll still use the name you have now. And when we think it's safe enough, you sell it back to yourself with your old name. The name you have now," she explained patiently. "Kind of like a ghost writer with me being both people only it's for a house instead of a book." Rick was catching on. "Ghost house," Kate said gigging. "Oooo, my house is haunted." Suddenly he liked the idea.

They spent the day camping and rented a boat to motor around the lake, much like last time. It convinced him that they didn't need their own boat. The lake just wasn't big enough to worry about buying his own.

Rick and Kate decided to take the risk and let Alexis sleep by herself this time since she seemed to be taking being a bear a little better. "I'm still worried about her Rick." Kate snuggled in a little closer. "She just needs time and lots of love," he replied. "Too bad she's in the next room. Having a beautiful, naked woman that I love in my bed is difficult to resist." He twisted a little to wrap his other arm around her so that she was being hugged. She closed her eyes and melted into him. She knew what his hugs could do, but she was also finding out that they were addictive. She loved being in his arms.

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After breakfast they pulled up stakes and drove back towards Newcastle. "We need lots of plastic bags and a whole lot of cleaning supplies," Rick commented while driving; Kate nodded in agreement.

She leaned over the seat and reached in back to her bag which was next to Alexis. She opened it and pulled out the book her mother had given her then sat back down in the front seat. "What's that?" Rick asked allowing himself a quick look as he drove. "I'm not sure. My mother gave it to me. She said it was Dad's and that he had gotten it from his parents, and they from theirs," Kate said, explaining what little she knew about it.

"It looks old. She didn't happen to give you the key, too?" He could see large, ornate bands holding it shut. "It doesn't open with a key. There's no lock to put the key into and Mom said Dad never could get it open," Kate told him. "A lock that isn't a lock that doesn't have a key. What's that on the cover?" Rick asked curiously. "It kind of looks like a dragon chasing its tail," she said. "You're a dragon," Alexis commented. "I am sweetie, but I don't know much and I don't have anyone to teach me. You have your father to teach you, but there's no one to teach me." Kate didn't like the thought about being on her own.

"Now how do you open this thing?" she muttered to herself as she tried to forcefully remove the bands, which got her nowhere. "They're connected on each end straight into the book, like they're part of it." She could feel the weight of it along with seeing lots of pages inside it. "The pages look thicker than paper," she commented as she ran a finger over the edge of the pages.

"If it's as old as it looks that's not paper like we have. More like papyrus than paper." Rick remarked.

Papyrus is a plant that grows wild all over the Nile river valley, which is to say it is very common in Egypt. You can cut the long stalks and soak them in water until they rot a little, and then you lay a lot of these stalks next to each other, and a lot of other stalks on top, crossways to the first ones, and then you pound them flat, until all the stalks get mashed into all the other ones, and you have something a lot like paper. This however was likely something different. It actually felt more like animal skin.

"Maybe a knife? Cut the straps off?" Rick suggested. "One would think my father or his parents would have tried that," Kate said dryly as she turned the book over in her hands. "What does your dragon think?" he asked her. She hadn't really talked to her dragon like it was another person. If this book held answers… _'Do you know how to open it?'_ Kate asked. _'I know nothing about this book. I am sorry,'_ was the answer she received. She shook her head when Rick looked at her.

"Well, if it can be closed it can be opened. Maybe there's something online," he offered, getting Kate to look at him like he had lost his mind. "Don't discount what's out there. A lot of fantasies or ancient myths may even have even a tiny amount of truth in them. We just need to learn more about dragons. Maybe that will give us an idea about how to open it," he defended himself.

Rick bought every blue tarp the store had since he wasn't sure just how many bodies there were. Plus he needed a plan to get rid of them. Kate meanwhile took Alexis shopping for supplies to clean up blood. Disposable gloves, bleach, paper towels, kitty litter to soak up the blood and disinfecting towelettes.

The burned out car was still in the driveway. "Go upstairs to your room pumpkin, please. Let us clean up the mess and don't come down until I tell you to," he told her. Still just inside the door were a few dead men that she had to go past. "I hope she isn't traumatized by all of this," Kate prayed. "We're all sleeping in the same bed tonight after we clean up this mess and go get the dogs," he told her, getting Kate to nod.

The bodies went in the tarps and into the back of Rick's truck to be dumped later. Then they both went to work on the blood downstairs and upstairs, including up on the stairs.

They stopped for lunch and ate in Alexis's room upstairs.

"I'll drop you and Alexis off at your house while I think of somewhere to dump the bodies," Rick said wearily as they loaded Alexis into the truck. "Please be careful babe. It's not likely there are more from Paladin in the area, but you still need to be careful," she reminded him then kissed him.

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Ziona Chana and 12 of his oldest sons were sitting at one of the many dining room tables while his 32 wives and 94 children were cooking dinner. Their home took up four floors that were each 12,000 square feet in space along with a roof deck that was also 12,000 square feet. The building was painted a light purple that distinguished it from all of the other buildings in the hills of Baktwang village in India. He also had 14 daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren.

Chhuan That Run or The house of the New Generation.

Their house had exactly 100 rooms, not including closets or the roof deck. The 32 wives each slept in large communal dormitories save for a few of his youngest wives. A single meal could see the family pluck 30 chickens, peel 132 pounds of potatoes and boil 220 pounds of rice.

Ziona enjoyed his own king-sized bed. The youngest of his wives lived closest to him while the oldest slept further away. He even had a rotation system for who visited his bedroom. At 56 years old, he may have slowed down a little but it hadn't stopped him. He even married 10 women in one year. One such 18-year-old woman was simply walking in the village one morning and received a handwritten letter asking for her hand in marriage.

Today however was a business meeting, family business. Mizo is the dominant language of the area, however in their house English was a requirement of everyone. "We have taken some of our worst losses in recent history. I can only surmise that some if not most of the local members have been compromised in some way," Ziona began.

"Sophia may have been a failure, however Eric's methods have proven to be equally faulty. The recent loss of one of our largest research laboratories located in the United States is a large blow," one of his sons stated. "We should never have allowed Eric to have been elevated to the position he presently enjoys. He has no understanding of family. His constant rotation of loose women shows a weakness of character."

"Our first failure was expanding too quickly. We have not even cleaned out our own country of these vermin, let alone expanding into far off lands," another son stated.

"Perhaps we should restrict our operations to the more local area. India, Pakistan, China, and Southeast Asia. When we are satisfied with this result we can add Russia before moving on to Europe with the United States being last," one of them suggested, and watched over half of them shake their heads including Ziona.

"We have resources in the United States, what we need to do is weed out those that are weak and vulnerable. Downsize to a more manageable level while we focus on the local area first," yet another son offered.

"If the loss of the research lab results in them finding the names of the remaining members of the council that we set up there, we need sever all ties with them. Clean out what information they have access to," still another son insisted. "We could just let the information leak out who and what they are," another said. Most of them shook their heads immediately. "The information they have could fall into the wrong hands and destroy everything we have in that country." One son shook his head. "Each country may be compartmentalized, however we cannot allow the information they have to become available."

"Eric Vaughn and the remaining council members need to be removed. We need to start again, only this time we select our people with more care. These Americans…" Ziona did not understand how Americans could be so materialistic. Family came first and foremost, everything else was second. "We will move those least affected to Utah and start again. We will stay out of their big cities. Work and recruit only in the rural areas. They are more likely to be friendly to our cause," Ziona stated firmly.

From there they got to work on how to move those they trusted to a community in Utah, even if they had to build their own enclave. "Send someone to eliminate the last three council members and Eric then make sure their homes are empty of everything. Blow up the houses, incinerate them, bury them in some manner," Ziona ordered. "Now let's get to work on where in Utah to base the new operation and what people we are going to transfer there. First, however, is do we utilize an existing location or build our own?" Ziona asked them.

Location, power, water, climate. Everything was considered. Still they did not reach a consensus that day so it was tabled until next week.

Next week brought up a question of why they just couldn't hide in one of America's largest cities. Renovate then relocate who they chose. Money was not an object. The new question was what city was large enough and central enough to work from.

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Lee and Francine Mueller lived far enough outside of town that Serena wasn't worried about the Osprey being seen by anyone and they lived alone. Their kids were all grown and lived in other states. Since the closest holiday was weeks away she felt they would be safe to stay there. It didn't hurt that Lee and Francine were both retired.

They had done well for themselves and since they both were, at one time in their lives, surgical nurses, they were Serena's best option to save her friends. The downside, of course, was that they didn't have an operating theater to work in. Nor did they have all of the necessary tools. Still they did the best they could with what they had.

Of the remaining mountain lions in the Osprey only 3 had the same blood type and the three of them were almost drained dry giving blood to their friends. Right now those three were sleeping, getting IV fluids, as Lee and Francine emerged from the impromptu operating room. They looked dead tired and had blood all over them. "I'm not even going to bother asking who or what you people are, however your two friends should be fine if their healing continues at the pace it currently is," Lee told them. They watched all of them relax, like the weight of the world had just been taken off their shoulders.

"They are both going to need to stay here for at least a week. We'll know more as they recover. Now I maybe an old fool but those wounds had to be made from an automatic machine gun to get those kinds of patterns," Lee told them and held up his hand to keep them all quiet. "But I'm not THAT old of a fool, and you, Serena, owe us big time," Lee informed her.

"And even whether they live or die I would and will gladly pay any price you desire," Serena said. "Me too," added Joanne. "Us three," added one of the others. "My wife and I will think about it. They are both still out of it and likely will be for several hours, but you can look in on them. One at a time," he quickly said when it looked like everyone moved at the same time. Serena gave the others the first look while she and Joanne stayed with Lee and Francine.

"Are you…?" Francine looked at Serena who shook her head. "I'm the odd one out in this group," she informed them. Joanne took exception to that statement. "You are _not_ the odd one out in this family, my love. You are most definitely in," Joanne told her. That had both Lee and Francine looking with new eyes at Serena, who immediately began blushing.

"How do you know each other anyway?" Joanne asked since Serena had never mentioned these two before. "My husband and I used to be surgical nurses but not just any surgical nurses. We were both assigned to an aircraft carrier, just not the same one. But at the time we were both deployed in the same theater. One of our destroyers picked up a signal about a person in a boat whose motor was running slowly going in a straight line. That ship's doctor stabilized her for transport to my ship where I put her back together," Francine explained. "That was you?" Joanne asked looking at Serena who only nodded. "That certainly explains the scar on your…" Serena cut her off. "JO!" Her blush was back in full force while Francine and Lee simply chuckled at Serena's expense.

"What was never explained was the multi-million dollar painting that was also on that boat," Francine commented. "A painting that I'd never seen before or since," Serena quickly added, not that either of them believed her then or now. No one, including the Navy, could pin the theft on her so it was simply returned to its owner; Serena was closely watched by the FBI for months following.

"We should go get cleaned up, you are all staying for dinner," Lee informed them and headed for their bedroom with the ensuite. Joanne turned on Serena. "You are so telling me what happened that day," she demanded. Serena simply moaned.

Joanne used to be such a simple, sweet girl whose mother, that she loved dearly, was killed and stuffed into a safe. The image of seeing her mother's broken body stuffed into their safe was still seared into her brain. A night didn't pass that she didn't see that image. She called it blind luck that Serena was in town and she ran into her, literally. Joanne to this day didn't understand why she latched onto Serena, but where Serena went so did she.

It had taken every last ounce of courage she had to actually kiss Serena after a couple of days with them being together. The rest was history. Now her heart that had been put back together by Serena, which was also in her possession. She was truly living again. Joanne had even forgotten about the card she still had which had that female detective's name on it.


	35. Chapter 35

**CH35**

"Hi Mom." Kate entered the house just ahead of Rick and Alexis and was greeted by two very happy dogs followed a moment later by a third bounding puppy. "Katie!" Johanna made it past the dogs to hug her daughter. "How was your trip?" she asked not knowing what they had really been doing. "Your timing is almost perfect, I was thinking about starting dinner for myself. Now I can add 3 more people." Which got Johanna to head for the kitchen.

"You want to help? I need the chicken cut into smaller pieces," Johanna said. "Sure, just let me wash first," Kate told her since she and Rick had been cleaning up blood and hauling dead bodies. She elected to wait for Rick to dump the bodies at his home with Alexis.

She was soon back to cut the chicken up into parts and then into pieces. "Are we going out to look at the restaurant tomorrow?" Kate asked her. "We can do that but don't you have work tomorrow?" Johanna replied. "My car broke down so I don't know what I'll be doing," she admitted since she and Rick needed to discuss what to do about the last two days.

"I plan on going during lunch, so if you can make it that's where I'll be," Johanna told her. "We'll just have to see Mom. When is Oscar coming back out again?" Kate asked innocently only to see Johanna fumble with the wood spoon she had in her hand then dropped on the floor. "I don't actually know. He talked about coming out in a few weeks and then again a week before we open." Johanna picked up her spoon and washed it in the sink.

"So you like Oscar?" Kate teased her mother. "WHAT!?" Johanna turned on Kate to question her about where that came from. "Come on Mom, you… OW!" Kate yanked her hand up to her mouth and stuck her finger in her mouth. "Let me see Katie," Johanna coaxed. "Take your finger out of your mouth and show me what you've done." She pulled Kate's finger out of her mouth and looked at it as blood quickly welled up. She grabbed the first thing she could find so she could hand it to Kate which turned out to be a paper towel; she pressed it to Kate's finger. "Hold that and let it stop bleeding and go clean up," Johanna instructed her.

Kate headed for the downstairs bathroom and started working on her finger. Eventually she came back to finish cutting the chicken. "Oh no, you'll get blood all over our dinner. Get out and go do something else." Johanna gave her a little push. "It's just a little cut Mom, I'll be fine," Kate insisted. "You'll get to keep the finger, yes, but look at it, it's still bleeding," Johanna pointed out as she handed her another paper towel and pushed harder to get her out of the kitchen.

"I'm going, I'm going," she grumbled and went for her bag she dropped at the door. "I'm going to look at this book again," she said loudly as Rick stepped into the kitchen to take over for Kate.

Alexis was on the floor playing with Patch while Midas and Maggie tried to get her to play too. "Now how do you open this thing?" Kate started turning it around in her hands with a Band-Aid® over her cut as well as a paper towel.

"You sure there's no…" Kate stopped talking when one of the bands holding the book closed suddenly unwound itself from the book like it was being un-stitched. "IT OPENED! IT OPENED!" she called out excitedly. Rick, Johanna, and Alexis hurried over to look. "What's inside?" Rick asked as he got to her. "I don't know. Only one of the bands has let loose," she said. "Well, how did you do it? Just do it to the other one," he suggested. If she did it once just do it again. "I didn't do anything except for turning it over and over in my hands," Kate admitted.

"Do it again then," he said as they watched her do it over and over again getting nothing. "What did you do the first time that you didn't this time?" Rick asked. "HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?" she snapped, and looked at the strap that was now loose.

One end really did look like it had literally been stitched into the book. There was no slot in the book to fit the end back into; it was just hanging loose. Kate took her paper towel off her finger to wipe the blood that was now on the strap. Rick quickly stopped her. "Did it have blood on it before? I mean was it already bloody or did you do it?" he asked her."I don't know, I don't think so," she replied which gave her an idea as she took her dried up bloody Band-Aid® off. She squeezed her finger to get it to bleed a little again and smeared it across the remaining band that locked the book closed.

They all watched as the band un-stitched itself from the book and fell away. All of them stood there staring at it. "Are you going to read it?" Alexis broke the silence while looking at Kate. She breathed in deeply, let it out slowly, and opened the book to the first page. What happened next astounded all of them.

Suddenly there was a huge head of a dragon hanging above the book. It was translucent and had a silvery color to it. Its eyes looked old, like they had seen way too much. Where once it looked like they knew rage, it now looked like they were weary and knew pain. It had two large horns that reached up into the ceiling and disappeared. Its mouth was full of teeth that were still dagger sharp.

" _You are the_ _L_ _ast of the Dragons_ _, a_ _n Amethyst Gem Dragon. A true neutral dragon. Not all good_ _,_ _not all evil_ _, you are_ _from a family of Black Dragons. Everything you need is in this book. There is no one to teach you and for that I'm eternally sorry. My personal prayer is that you have someone who loves you and that life will grant you many children so that our race does not completely die out. However if that is not the case, do not feel sad for us. In life_ _there is death - for everyone_ _. You are now the most powerful living dragon on the planet. Read, practice and live. That is all I really ask. May your ancestors smile on you and your life and any that love you."_

They watched the giant dragon's head slowly fade away while smiling a smile filled with teeth. He left silence in his wake. "I love you." Alexis broke the silence with her declaration. Kate opened her arms wide to lift her up and hold her. "You're not afraid of me?" she asked. After all she was a dragon. She felt Alexis shake her head which earned her a kiss to her head. "I'm really a dragon," Kate stated not sure if she even believed it even if she had lived it.

The head had been huge and it was intimidating even if it wasn't real. "The last?" she whispered. How could she be the last? Just what did a last of anything do? "If I'm the last dragon then Dad must have been the last dragon. Why couldn't he open it?" she wondered but began looking at the book for answers.

"What does it say? Can you read that scribble?" Rick asked because the markings in the book were unfamiliar. Kate, however, was shaking her head. She didn't have a was obviously written by hand as the outer edge of the 'words?' was ornate and likely filled with gold leaf. It was beautifully illustrated, the painted colors vivid and still bright as the day they were done. The book having been closed for centuries had protected the colors, the gold leaf, and the pages themselves.

' _In the ages long past, before man became the dominant life form, the skies were filled with dragons.'_ Kate heard the dragon inside her telling her what the book said. She just let it continue and turned the page when her dragon was done.

"It talks about a time long ago when dragons filled the land with both good and bad. The father of us all was a good dragon, however his wife fell to evil and so began a war. A war between dragons. Men were only a side show, a nuisance, and were forced to watch as the world burned," Kate told them. "You can read that!?" Rick asked incredulously. "Not me, my dragon can. She's reading to me then I'm telling you what she says," Kate informed them.

"Well, I'm going to go finish making dinner, you can give me the highlights later," Johanna said. "You want to take the dogs outside and play pumpkin? It's too small in here for Midas and Maggie," Rick said. "Okay." And out the front door all the dogs went after Alexis called to each of them.

Kate kept turning pages until she got to the first illustration of a dragon. It was amazingly detailed and filled with color. "It's a Gold Dragon, a good dragon that obeyed the laws of the dragon land. It talks about it having two different types of breath weapons. One was fire and the other was a gas. It could breathe underwater and it had powers." Kate accentuated that last part. "Do you have powers?" Rick asked already knowing that she could breathe fire.

She turned the page and found what powers it had on the back of the page as well as a drawing of the next dragon. "It's a Silver Dragon, another good dragon. It says its breath weapon was cold or a gas, and it has powers too." Kate turned the page to see its powers and the picture of the next dragon.

Copper Dragon, Brass Dragon, Bronze Dragon. She turned page after page. "WOW, that one is right out of the movies." Rick pointed to the next one. "It's a Red Dragon, an evil dragon with a breath weapon of fire only. It also has powers," she told him and turned the page.

"A Black Dragon like my father. MOM COME LOOK!" she yelled which got Johanna to hurry from the kitchen, step in behind Kate, and look over her shoulder. "Your father. All black with black eyes, except for the teeth," Johanna recalled, not having seen her husband looking like this in a very long time.

"It says black dragons are sometimes known as skull dragons because of their skeletal faces. Adding to the skeletal impression is the gradual deterioration of the hide around the base of the horn and the cheekbones. This deterioration increases with age and does not harm the dragon. They have a breath weapon of acid. They can breathe underwater Mom and they have powers." She turned the page to read about them and saw the next dragon to be read about.

"It says Dad could create darkness around him. Do you know how old Dad was? It says the older he was the more powers he gained." Kate turned to look at her mother who only shook her head. "We only kept track of his human years, not his dragon years," Johanna was forced to admit; she had never seen her husband display any of his powers.

White Dragon, Blue Dragon, Green Dragon. "Turtle Dragon?" Kate was shocked. It even looked like a turtle. Deep green shell with lighter colors of green and blue highlighting it. It even had flecks of gold leaf mostly around its head and tail. "Up to 25 feet in diameter and weighs as much as 32,000 pounds," Kate read as Rick whistled in amazement. "It breathes steam. It can breathe water and can capsize ships just over 60 feet in length," she read, or more accurately, explained what her dragon was telling her. "It has powers too," she mentioned.

They could see the picture of the next dragon just as Johanna called out that dinner was ready. Rick went to the door to get Alexis and the dogs back inside. "Have you found you in that book?" Johanna asked as they sat down to eat. "Not yet but I have a lot of pages to read still. You're sure Dad never read this book?" Kate questioned her mother again. "Not that I know of. I'd almost forgotten that I still had it. I'm not even really sure why I kept it. Your father was gone, you didn't show any signs of being a dragon..." She could have easily tossed it in the trash.

Johanna was cleaning up after dinner. "We need to come up with a plan about what I'm going to do about my car, the bugs in it as well as the one that was on my tool belt. Not to mention what to do about our beloved sheriff," Kate pointed out. "How about you go back to reading and let me think. How would I write this for us to come out on top?" he mused. "I need my laptop," he announced and went out to his truck.

"Crystal Dragon, the friendliest of the Gem Dragons. …I'm friendly," Kate said in relief. "Breath weapon is a blinding light." She turned the page and read its powers.

"Emerald Dragon, the most inquisitive of the Gem Dragons. I'm inquisitive, too," she told herself. "Breath weapon is sound. …Interesting." She turned the page and read about its powers.

"Sapphire Dragon, territorial and distrustful of others. Well, that's not me," she murmured. "Breath weapon is sound again. Fascinating." Kate turned the page and read its powers just as Rick came back and sat in the living room to start dreaming up how they were going to get out of the mess with the sheriff's department.

"Topaz Dragon, unfriendly and selfish. Well, that certainly isn't me," she remarked. "Breath weapon is dehydration. Suck the water out of the victim. Oooo, sounds bad." She turned the page to read its powers. "I FOUND ME, I FOUND ME!" she shouted which got everyone including Alexis to come running.

"That's you Kate." Alexis remembered that look from before. "Yes sweetie, that's me. Dang I look good." She was impressed with herself, but then she always did love the color purple.

"Amethyst Dragon, wise and regal," she read. "Humph, fat lot this book knows," Rick teased. "Careful babe or I'll breathe on you." Kate glared at him knowing that he was just teasing. "They have lavender skin with small scales of a light, translucent purple that as they grow older will gradually darken and take on a crystalline quality. The scales are shaped like mineral crystals. Their primary power is Psychokinesis. …What the heck is Psychokinesis?" She had never even hear the word before.

"Psychokinesis is an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Used to influence external objects or events without the use of physical energy," Rick told them the description that was in his head from all of his reading. "Which means what?" Kate was still lost. "Think of it as a form of telekinesis which is the ability to move objects with your mind," he told her. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!?" She had never done such a thing or even thought about it. _'Only in dragon form,'_ her dragon informed her. "Only as a dragon," she whispered to herself, though everyone heard her.

"What are my powers?" Kate turned the page to find more writing on the next page, though there were a number of pages yet to read. "I can spit a gem up to 75 feet away that instantly explodes doing damage to anyone in the blast area. …I can spit a grenade!?" She was shocked. She just thought she could do a breath weapon of intense fire.

"When I was born I had immunity to poisons. That certainly explains a lot," Kate commented. "That day when you were bitten by a copperhead as a child...your father and I just about had a heart attack. We rushed you to the hospital and they found the bite but told us that you had no symptoms so they decided that the snake didn't inject you with its venom." Johanna still remembered that day. They both thought their little girl was going to die.

"Resistance to heat when I was very young. What age am I now?" she wondered since it was all related to the age of the dragon. "Juvenile!? I'm a kid? How can I be a kid when I'm an adult?" Kate was pissed and offended. "What ages are there?" Rick inquired. She went down the list. "Wyrmling 0-5, very young 6-15, young 16-25, juvenile 26-50, young adult 51-100, adult 101-200, mature adult 201-400, old 401-600, very old 601-800, ancient 801-1,000, wyrm 1,001-1,200 and great wyrm 1,201 or more," Kate read off.

"I guess that explains why you're a juvenile instead of an adult," Rick remarked. Kate, however, didn't hear a word he said. "I'm going to live to be 1,200 years old!?" She started having trouble breathing at this revelation and turned to look at Rick as her tears started. "I'm going to live for hundreds of years after you die! That's not fair, so not fair," she wept. She didn't notice what she had just revealed to her mother, not that she cared at the moment.

"Not necessarily," he replied as he took her hand, dragged her outside, and closed the door behind him. "RICK!?" The thought of watching him die and then living without him was shattering her heart. "You remember when we bonded and we exchanged chemicals and hormones?" he prompted her and watched Kate wipe at her tears and nod her head.

"Well, when I did that I was increasing your human lifespan to basically match mine. But you're a shifter, so when you gave me your chemicals and hormones, you increased my lifespan to essentially match yours. It's not a perfect match by any means, but it should be something close," he said comfortingly.

"You mean…you're not going to…I won't…" She launched herself into his arms and kissed him with as much passion for their future as she could put into it.


	36. Chapter 36

**CH36**

Rick had come up with at least the beginnings of a plan. "First we need to get rid of your car in a manner that renders the bug on it inoperative, tonight preferably. If it's bugged and hasn't moved in the last two days he's going to send someone to come looking for it," he warned. "Drive out and tow it somewhere? We don't even know where the bug is located," Kate pointed out. "Not tow it, you're going to fly out and burn the crap out of it like you did the car in my driveway. Have you finished reading about your abilities?" he asked her. She nodded. "I can't do that much as a juvenile. I can do a number of things as I get older." She was actually impressed with some of them. One was questionable as to how useful it would be, but still it was a power.

"Wait until really late, make sure you don't see anyone out there, and leave it a burned out hulk. They can either think you crashed and caught fire, you were attacked and chased down, then your car was burned," Rick explained.

"And what about me?" Kate questioned. "You walked, not sure if any car that came by was them. It took you two days," he offered. "And the bug in my belt?" She still couldn't believe she was being watched this closely. "It was a long walk so you dropped it to reduce the weight," Rick said. "Put your spare uniform in a bag and take it with you. Fly back close to town at night and stop, put on your uniform, and roll around in the dirt to look like you've been out there for a while. A kind citizen finds you and takes you to the sheriff's office where you check in and spin your story. Your car is burned so no radio and no cell phone service. You left it in the car," he told her. "Maybe he won't have another car for you so you'll have to stay in the office so you can watch him. We know he's dirty, we just need more proof than what we have," he said.

She couldn't think of anything else, it seemed to cover all the bases. "Fine, I'll wait until 2:00 am and fly out," Kate relented and she did want to be in the office to watch him.

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Serena left two people with Lee and Francine to make her feel like she wasn't abandoning them then flew home where she filled her tanks and re-loaded the armament before going inside to check in with Sarah.

"How did we do? Has Michael checked in yet?" Serena asked about them. "Affirmative, members of his clan have informed him that the building was completely destroyed, what was left developed a fire that didn't last long," Sarah responded.

Serena collapsed onto the sofa feeling much better about what they had accomplished today. It was getting late and what she desperately wanted was a shower. She was hoping that the eleven clones that they had brought back with them could adapt. They may be clones but they were also mountain lions. "I'm going to hit the shower if there is nothing else," she announced and got up.

"Actually there is. Adrian managed to connect his Wi-fi connection to their mainframe before it was destroyed. I was able to download 97% of the files on their computer filling up most of my available spare space," Sarah informed her. "It worked?" Serena had given him the item in case he got a chance. "When your $80 million parts arrive I'll install them as fast as possible. What did you get and have you had the time to evaluate what you've downloaded?" Serena questioned her.

"There is a complete list of every person that was employed at the site. Also all of their research appears to be complete and downloaded. They have developed an airborne pathogen that will affect mountain lions. There is a notation that Kodiak bears would be next," Sarah related. "That's why they wanted to kidnap Rick's daughter. Do to her what they did to our friends so they could kill them. Where is Rick now?" Serena asked.

"According to Hayley, the last time she had checked in they were still with his father , however, if they want to live in his house they will need to return and clean it soon," Sarah pointed out.

"Clean out the smell of death." It made sense to her. "There is one more item. There is a listing of several of their personnel that work for Paladin, including the names and addresses for all five of them. Video coverage that Michael left behind indicates that two of them were killed at the site," Sarah revealed.

Serena's eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open. It was JACK POT CITY! **"JOANNE! GET DOWN HERE!"** They needed a plan. "Show me what we have in the area of the last three," Serena asked Sarah. They had a chance to cripple Paladin and she was going to take it.

Joanne came running in as a human huffing and puffing a little since she had sprinted to the living room. Serena had also gotten the attention of two others. "Sarah downloaded their server and found names and addresses of the last three council members!" Serena was dancing for joy, Joanne was sure.

"We hit them hard. Who are they and where are they?" one of them inquired. "Stan Holiwell and his residence is in Los Angeles, California. Malibu beachfront to be more precise. Six bedrooms, five full baths and one half bath, 4,500 square feet of living space, right on the beach." Sarah named one of them.

"Darius Langley. He resides in Bachelor Gulch Village, Colorado. Six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three half bathrooms, 10,000 square feet." Sarah named the second.

"Ron Brandt. His residence is a penthouse in Seattle, Washington. Five bedrooms, two ¾ bathrooms and two half bathrooms, 6,758 square feet in the middle of downtown Seattle," Sarah finished.

"The one in Colorado is closest to us, we'll take him. What about the other two, who do we have anywhere near them?" Serena asked.

"Ike Thornton and his clan are based in the Seattle area. They live on house boats and are a group of thirty-four seagulls," Sarah responded offering the closest option. "Violet Young and her clan of eleven hawksbill sea turtles are located on the coast of the Santa Monica Mountains just outside of the Malibu area," Sarah said.

"Contact them and have them recon the site for each of them. Send them the latest satellite coverage pictures we have of the area and tag a satellite to cover that area and give them up to date information. Together we will work out how to attack them," Serena ordered.

"Meanwhile show me what we've got on screen on what we have for the one in Colorado. We need to find a place to land close enough that we can reach it but not high enough that it gives ourselves away. Someone put on the coffee, it's going to be a long night."

"We need to get to them before they catch wind of what we did today and head for the hills," Serena advised them then headed for the bathroom for her shower. "Go get our weapons list we still have including how much Semtex we still have, please love." Serena asked Joanne who started running.

They all needed sleep and it looked like they would be flying again tomorrow and planning tonight. Not a good combination.

Serena was back, her hair still damp. Joanne had returned with the list of what was available. "Just enough .50 cal to do the job which is all that we have and already loaded. Our last two Hellfires, Sparrow missiles, and the last two heat seekers. The Osprey will be all but worthless after this when we are done." Serena hated that thought.

"Where are our satellites?" She wanted to see where they were going. "The one for Colorado is actually coming up in three…two…one and Sarah put it up on the TV.

They did not see what they were expecting. "Zoom in please," Serena asked her. "Is everybody seeing this?" she asked, stunned as she watched heads nod. What they saw was a massive fire directly in the center of their target location. The local fire department was trying to fight it, but they were losing ground. Hours later with the help of a fire plane dropping a load of water directly on the site, they stood a chance of containing the fire.

"Accident?" she queried. "Directly on the house in question?" Joanne wasn't buying it. "How about California?" Serena asked. "No satellite for another hour. Seattle will be just minutes later," Sarah responded.

They sat and watched the fire consume Darius Langley's house. Serena sighed as she sat there, watched, and waited.

"Ike Thornton has reported in from Seattle. Ron Brant's penthouse is on fire and the building is too tall for the fire department to fight it from their engines," Sarah suddenly announced. "Satellite coverage for this area is not for another twenty-six minutes. He has added that the area around it for four blocks has been closed off due to flaming debris raining down from the penthouse," Sarah added.

"Okay. Now I really don't understand," Joanne commented. "We've hurt them, destroyed their research facility, killed two of their council members, or at least that's what we think they were." Serena knew that didn't have any confirmation of the kills. "Now two of the remaining three council members have been killed, I'm assuming since their houses are on fire." She tried to talk her way through what she was seeing and hearing.

"They've gotten word and are on the run," someone suggested. "Perhaps, but why burn it? Why not just sell it under a false name and recoup the cost to purchase it? Those places had to cost what? $10 million each?" Serena shook her head. "That's money they could use. I would certainly know what to do with it. …No something is going on." She was certain of it.

They all waited impatiently for twenty long minutes for the satellite imagery of the house on the beach on Malibu. "Satellite coverage in three…two…one," Sarah stated and showed another massive fire centered on their target as the city's fire department was there fighting it.

All of them were silent for a time. "They're cleaning house. Someone somewhere has reached a conclusion that they have a problem and are cleaning house. There must be someone above the council members and they are protecting themselves." Serena thought she had figured it out. "Where's Eric Vaughn? Get someone on him. I want to know where he is. He might be all we have left." She was worried that they would have no one to go after that might have information they could use.

An hour later only Serena and Joanne still awake. "Violet has reported in that the local broadcasts are calling his house and the surrounding block a complete loss. Ike has also reported that the fire department has finally started to gain the upper hand," Sarah announced.

"Why is it I have a feeling that our winning is turning into losing?" Serena groaned. "We've had some of our greatest successes to date and yet instead of fighting back, they're cleaning house. Eliminating every member we know about, plunging us into the dark once again." She didn't like this turn of events. "We'll find them. We did it last time, we'll do it this time," Joanne replied positively. "As much as it pains me, and trust me it does, we may need to find and capture whomever is left. We need Eric Vaughn," Serena stated.

It was a short time later and Joanne had her head in Serena's lap sleeping while Serena stroked her hair absentmindedly. Sarah announced that she had something. It was an extremely late night news announcement. The multi-millionaire Eric Vaughn had been found shot to death in the ground floor lobby of the building that housed his penthouse. "GOD DAMN IT!" she exclaimed getting Joanne to move a little and moan. "Sorry love, go back to sleep," Serena whispered and went back to stroking her hair.

"There has to be someone somewhere that we can interrogate and get information from." She wanted someone, anyone. "Sarah, has Hayley checked in lately?" Serena had an idea. "Negative, her last communication indicated that Rick and the others are still camping near a lake just north of Newcastle," Sarah responded. She couldn't think of anything or why Rick interested her, though letting a big yawn out probably didn't help. "Come on love, it's time to go to bed." Serena shook her to wake her. "Hhhhmm?" Joanne murmured half asleep. "Time to get up and go to bed, we're both tired," Serena told her and helped her to her feet as they helped each other upstairs to their bedroom where they slid into bed naked and held each other close.

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There was this loud noise and it was really bothering Kate 'til her mind was awake enough for her hand to whack the offending alarm clock. Then she snuggled back in closer to Rick. "You need to get going, it's going to be a long day," he pointed out since he was awake now too.

"No, too tired," Kate moaned not that she was really THAT tired, but this day meant a lot and facing it was likely going to cost them. "You could make love to me instead," she said smiling suggestively as she buried her head further into Rick's neck. For him her offer was almost too good to pass up since he did love making love to her. It occurred to him yet again that she owned his heart and they needed for today to succeed if they were going to move forward together.

"We need for this to work out Kate. Today is a big day for us," he quietly reminded her, as she moaned again knowing that he's right.

It was an hour later and Alexis was still in bed as Rick joined Kate outside and placed a bag on the ground. The fact that Kate was naked wasn't lost on him. "See something you like?" She couldn't help but notice he was looking her over. She immediately found her in his arms as he hugged her, and if she was being truthful, the power of his hug was just what she needed. He made her anxiety about today leave her and filled her body with peace. "I've liked what I've seen since the moment I met you." He kissed her and released her.

"The bag contains your uniform as well as panties and a bra. Try to call me after you make it to the office. Hopefully the sheriff hasn't sent anyone out to look for you during this time. He probably hasn't since how would he explain why he did since you aren't due back from your patrol for another almost two days," Rick pointed out. He gave her one last quick kiss, stepped back several feet, and watched Kate change in a couple of seconds into a truly large purple dragon.

She bent down to sniff Rick's scent. _'Watch after Alexis babe.'_ Then she used her teeth to pick up her bag and began running to take off into the air. It was a good night to fly since the moon was barely a sliver. Kate found that she had excellent night vision and saw things almost as well at night as she did during the day. Flying also had its own thrill. _'I could learn to like being a dragon,_ 'she thought to herself, except there was someone else listening. _'Glad to hear it,_ 'her dragon replied. Kate would smile but her bag was in her mouth. She held her bag without trouble and had been watching the road and surrounding area as she flew. Save for one lone car about twenty minutes ago who was far away now, it was quiet.

She landed, dropped her bag, and wasted no time in rearing back and inhaling deeply. Then leveling her head at her car, she exhaled. What came out was a burst of fire that struck the car from the side and engulfed it in searing heat. Her breath lasted for a few seconds. When she stopped and looked again, she could see the patrol car was now a hot burned out hulk. The seats were gone as well as all the plastic and carpet. Even those parts that were aluminum had melted and were now puddles on the ground. All that remained were those parts that were actually made of steel. The air had a smell of burnt tires.

Kate shifted back into being a human, noticing how easy it had been to make the change into a dragon then back into a human. All she did was wish it. "I wonder?" she said to herself and changed back into a dragon.

' _Move things with my mind huh,_ ' she mused and left it to her dragon to move what was left of her car about a foot. Kate felt her now very large mouth filled with teeth fall open when in fact her burnt out shell of a car actually moved a little more than a foot. _'I said a foot,_ ' she scolded her dragon. _'Sorry,_ ' was the reply she got back.

' _You can smell better than me. Can you see if anyone has stopped here recently?'_ Kate questioned her dragon, and soon found herself taking a few steps with her nose to the ground. _'All clear,_ ' her dragon told her.

' _Rub out our footprints and change back to human,_ _please_ _. We need to get going_ ,' she asked her dragon. In just seconds she was a naked human again pulling her clothes out of the bag. She also found both of her weapons that Rick had added. Kate was smiling at his thoughtfulness and was smiling even wider when she found a small plastic bottle of water.

It was almost daylight. She got down on the ground and started rolling around 'til her clothes were torn and dirty and her hair was a mess. Kate threw away her bag, drank her water, then pitched the bottle. She started walking at an angle towards the highway. It was going to take her somewhere between six and eight hours to make it to the station. By then she would be thirsty again, just not that dehydrated.

As she walked she thought about the dragon book that she had only half finished. Wondering what was in the other half, Kate had a question. _'If my family was black dragons, why am I purple and a Gem Dragon?_ ' she mused. _'Read the book,_ ' was the answer her dragon gave her.

Kate had been walking down the highway for hours and she had to admit that she wasn't faking it much. She really was tired and a mess. Several cars drove past her ignoring her. Just over an hour later a car stopped and agreed to drop her at the station.

"Was that your car back on the side of the road?" she was asked, since he didn't remember seeing it on the side of the road before. "I think so. Probably. I remember the car suddenly not working correctly and I ended up in a ditch. I remember a bright flame that I walked away from. I'm lucky I found the road again." Kate spun her story, a rehearsal of sorts for when she got back to the office.

"Was it a car that ran you off the road? Were you chasing someone?" he questioned her. After all she was an armed deputy, wasn't she? A quick look showed that she did have her weapons. "I don't think so. I do remember a loud noise though. It's been a while since I was shot at," Kate admitted, which was the truth. "You were shot at? By whom?" he said nervously and started looking around and in his mirrors wondering if they were still after her.

But he made it to the sheriff's office and dropped her off where she thanked him and stood outside. _'I'm at the office and going inside,_ ' Kate thought to Rick.

' _Talk to me while you_ _'_ _re there if you can. Maybe I can help if he or someone else asks a difficult question, and don't forget your dragon,_ ' he offered.

Kate smiled for a moment. She was presently alone but not really alone as she headed for the front door.


	37. Chapter 37

**CH37**

Serena and Joanne were holding each other while giving soft kisses as the water of the shower cascaded over their bodies. They had awakened and made love to each other for the last hour.

"What happens now?" Joanne asked. Meaning what did they do next? What members of Paladin still existed that they knew about? "I can think of one thing." Serena offered while looking in Joanne's eyes. "You can say yes," she said as Joanne looked at her in confusion. "You can say yes and marry me," Serena told her. Joanne looked at her with shock which quickly turned into crying as her heart started bursting with love. Serena wasn't her life mate and they weren't bonded, however she already knew the chances of that ever happening. Her life mate could be in a little town in South America or living on a small island that she would never go to. All she knew was that she loved Serena with all her heart. Joanne was nodding while she cried and kissed Serena. This lead to them drying each other and ending up back in bed for another hour of making love.

Serena was dressed and down by Sarah as she touched the panel to activate her for the day. "We need a surviving member of Paladin. I need you to search your records and find someone, anyone. We need a lead before we end up in the dark starting from scratch yet again after all of their work," she worried aloud. "There is a possibility of there being one, however they are not in any of my records. How did they know to attack Rick and take his daughter? Who, that likely lives there, knew enough to send Paladin to them?" Sarah responded.

Serena was ready to slap herself silly, how could she be so stupid?

"Sarah, create a flight plan going from here to Richard Rogers' home and download it into the Osprey. We're going to need places to refuel and possibly sleep. Get on it while I load the plane," Serena told her. She ran across Joanne while passing the kitchen on her way to the underground passageway. "Find two more and meet me at the Osprey, we need to load some supplies into it." Serena kept walking; she feared they didn't have much time. Joanne and two others caught up to her just as she was pushing the rolling tool cabinet towards the ramp and into the plane. Joanne ran over and helped her push the heavy cabinet up the ramp.

Extreme Tools EX7612RCBL 76 inch professional roller tool cabinet – blue.

"Grab those four cases of spare parts and secure them and the tool cabinet in the plane," Serena called out as she walked to the armored vests and threw two of them into the plane then moved to the armory room, unlocked it, and went inside.

This room was loaded, though it used to have more, however, they recently used up a lot of the Semtex. Serena pulled two SIG MPX-C submachine guns with sound suppressors, lancer system, translucent polymer magazines and the sigtac reflex sight/combat optic (video), and placed them into an SIG MPX deployment bag. One for each of them. She slung them over her shoulder and lifted up two cases of ammunition, one in each hand and hurried into the plane to drop her heavy load. Serena moved into the cockpit and started her pre-flight check as Joanne poked her head in. "Where are we going and why the supplies?"

"Rick and his little girl were attacked for a reason. It's very likely because Paladin has eyes there, probably because of Hunt and his community. It might be our best and perhaps last lead on Paladin before they kill him while they clean house. So we're flying to Wyoming to find him," Serena informed Joanne as she started up the first engine. "Have you even eaten breakfast?" Joanne asked and watched her shake her head. She turned and pointed. "Breakfast bars, GO! …and water too!" Joanne sat in the co-pilot's seat, her seat, and powered up her engineering screens. Serena had just started the second engine when a box with breakfast bars and bottles of water were dropped near both of them. "Stay safe and check in with us," they're told.

The roof was opened and Serena added power to lift out of their hidden hanger. In this case they weren't hiding so she had to communicate with local control towers and switch frequencies when she was told to, to be handed off to the next tower.

Their first stop was Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport where they got fuel and Serena walked the plane and inspected the engines. The osprey had a 700 mile range with a flight time of three hours. Each three hours of operation usually required six hours of maintenance. However she was in a hurry so she only spent two hours as they waited for a truck and the time it took to fill their tanks.

Their next stop was Rapid City, South Dakota. "Go rent a car and find us a nice hotel room for the night, we're flying out in the morning," Serena told her. "What will you be doing?" Joanne queried. "I'll be right here taking these engines apart. That's why we loaded all the tools and the spare parts," Serena apprised her. "I'll call you when I'm about ready," she assured her.

Joanne rented the first mid-size vehicle she came across and used it to find some of the better hotels to get a room. She was very happy that the others had figured out what was going on and had thrown in a small bag for both of them. She picked one of the first hotels she came across coming up county road 44 that met US16. It was a Residence Inn by Marriot. She selected a one bedroom, took both keys, and went up the elevator to check out the room. It was about 550 square feet of space. A separate one bedroom, it had a fully complete kitchen though she had spotted a bar and grill in the hotel downstairs. She looked up when they closed and made a note of going down thirty minutes before they did to order for both of them and take it to their room. That's what doggie bags were for, right?

Joanne pulled out her phone. "Hi love. We have a room at a Residence Inn. It even has a restaurant in it that I'm going to get us food from and wait for you. A free continental breakfast in the morning, too." Joanne thought she had done good.

"Sounds nice, though if I'm going to eat you're going to need to bring it to me. It looks like I'm going to be here for a while." Serena broke the bad news to her. "OW! DAMN IT!" She put her injured knuckle in her mouth to soothe it with her tongue. "I'm fine, just scraped my knuckle," Serena told her before she could ask. "I'll give you a few hours and then I'm bringing you dinner and will stay to help you," Joanne informed her and then hung up before she could object.

In the end Joanne got them a pepperoni pizza and paid extra for double pepperoni along with 8 BBQ wings that came with celery sticks and ranch dressing for a dip. She took glasses out of their kitchen and bought a 2-liter bottle of out of the reach-in cooler at the front desk then drove back to the airport. She had to walk to their plane, not that she cared, and found the right engine missing its cowling with Serena sitting on the concrete under it with tools and parts all around her.

"I have food," Joanne announced as she got closer, causing Serena to turn to look at her. She couldn't help it, she suddenly doubled over laughing while trying to hold onto their food and drink. Serena's face was a mess. Joanne could easily tell that Serena had used her hand and wiped it across her face because there was a grease smear across her forehead from one side to the other. "Laugh it up fuzzball," Serena grumbled and turned back to the part that was giving her trouble. That only got Joanne to snort and keep laughing.

Joanne sat close to her, placed the food and drink on the ground, and handed her a rag to clean her hands, followed by handing her one of those moist towelettes that came in a single packet to finish cleaning her hands with. "Thanks," she said trying to get as much grease off as possible.

Joanne started with pizza while Serena started with the BBQ wings. "I didn't know I was this hungry," Serena commented, working on her 4th wing while Joanne was still on her first piece of pizza. "That's because all you had for breakfast was a breakfast bar and you wouldn't have eaten that if I didn't take the controls long enough for you to eat it," Joanne countered. She also knew they had skipped lunch.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Serena commented. "And you're never going to have to find out either," Joanne said with her mouth full since she was hungry too. "You're going to outlive me my love. I'm a human and don't have your life span, plus you're younger than I am," Serena pointed out. "Don't even think thoughts like that." Joanne's tears started immediately. Even the idea of losing Serena broke her heart. She scooted over and wrapped an arm around Joanne. "I'm sorry." She meant it too. "Please don't say things like that. I love you," Joanne said, her voice quavering, and wiped her tears. Her father was long since gone, her mother had been murdered. Serena was all she had. "I'll never bring it up again. I promise." Serena leaned in to kiss her cheek. Still they ended up eating in silence 'til it was all gone, including the Dr. Pepper.

"BURRRP!" Joanne slapped a hand over her mouth. "Excuse me," she apologized with her eyes open wide as Serena chuckled at her.

With Joanne's little bit of help, since she didn't know anything about engines, it reduced Serena's time from six hours down to four hours. Eventually Joanne led a tired and messy Serena to their car and up to their rooms where she found a bag with some clothes in it. "Thank god! I owe someone at home for this," Serena said as she began stripping with Joanne since they both needed a shower.

Joanne was waiting in bed when a tired, mostly dry and naked Serena joined her and snuggled in close only to see Joanne to wrinkle her nose. "You still smell like oil and grease." She gave Serena a light push. Serena groaned and rolled out of bed. "I scrub any harder and I'm not going to have any skin left," Serena pouted, as she went back into the shower. She had washed her hair three times now and her body had been scrubbed four times. She was stepping into the bedroom while still rubbing her hair dry with a towel. And she found her naked lover in bed with her arms lifted up inviting her into them.

Neither of them had the energy for sex and were asleep in minutes.

Hours later they were both happy with full stomachs from the free breakfast. Serena was going through her pre-flight check while Joanne was removing the tie downs when a security car drove up and parked. She watched an armed security guard get out and head straight for her. "Can I help you?" Joanne asked him when he got close enough. "If you're military you're at the wrong airport. The Ellsworth Air Force Base is a few miles north of here," he pointed.

"We're not military, this plane is privately owned," Joanne informed him, only to see him look up at the exposed Hellfire missiles, heat seekers, and Sparrow radar guided missiles. "Hollywood, we still have a number of hours of flight ahead of us," Joanne told him. "Ooooooo," he said excitedly. "Well, you have a nice day then and I look forward to seeing this beauty on the big screen," he remarked. "We had some engine trouble or you wouldn't have seen us at all," Joanne pointed out which was a white lie. Serena did have some trouble with one of the engines even if they did come here on purpose. "Thanks for the security check," Joanne told him as she gathered up the tie downs and walked up the ramp pressing the button to close it.

"What did he want?" Serena had watched him approach them. "Just mentioned that the air force base was north of here if we were lost. I told him we were Hollywood and he left us alone," Joanne told her as she sat down and began going over her engineering screens. "Hollywood, huh? Nice one, remind me to kiss you later," Serena said. "You can kiss me anytime, I'm not ashamed that I love you," Joanne replied. "Neither am I, love, neither am I." Serena started the first engine followed moments later by the second. Several minutes later they were airborne, though they would soon drop off the radar and likely be reported as having crashed somewhere, since Serena had no intention of answering their calls about what happened to them.

"How are we doing?" Serena asked since she didn't have the same screens Joanne did. "Ten minutes, minus," she responded as she used the optic telephoto lens to see Rick's house since they were still high enough up. "You're going to have to land several yards away from the house out in the valley. He has a really big playground set in his backyard for his little girl," Joanne advised her.

Five minutes later Serena started her nose dive and her call that she was making an emergency VTOL landing, and ignored what the tower said.

She soon spotted the house and the playset and worked at landing softly several feet past it out in the valley. Rick meanwhile was sitting in the living room working up ideas for his new book with Kate as a CIA agent who had a tag along rookie who was ruggedly handsome and driving her insane. It wasn't until the noise grew loud enough as Serena literally flew over his house at tree top level that it registered in his mind.

"What the hell?" Rick saved his work, got up and went to the wall of windows and looked out. Much to his horror he saw a really big plane with tilting rotors on each wingtip starting to land on his property. It was broad daylight and he couldn't ask Kate to fly out here and be seen doing it. He ran for the stairs shedding clothes as he went. The wall of windows downstairs had plywood covering them after Rick had driven into town to get them, and with Kate's help, hand nailed them in place 'til the glass could be replaced in a few weeks, since the glass had to be shipped in. At least one of the doors was operational and Rick had it open just as he shed the last of his clothes.

He turned into a bear and started running to the plane for all he was worth. He was going to get to them before they got to him this time dammit. Not to mention ripping their precious plane to pieces. His one saving grace was that today was a school day so Alexis wasn't here. Then it hit him. _'Kate, go check on Alexis at school. I think Paladin just landed in my valley!_ 'Rick called out to her. _'I'll be right there, give me a minute,_ 'she replied. _'I can handle them, check on Alexis, please,_ ' he responded. He was almost to the plane as the back ramp that was facing him started coming down. _'Fine._ ' _Kate_ sounded anything but fine, but at least Alexis would be safe.

Kate had been sitting in the office doing a report about what had happened since she left the office when Rick started talking to her. She gave the excuse that her daughter had been hurt while in school and dashed outside after getting the keys to a standard patrol car.

Rick was watching two unarmed women start walking down the ramp. _'This is going to be too easy,_ ' he thought as he jumped up onto the not quite 100% down ramp and roared at them with the intent of opening them up with a swipe of his paw.

" **NO, Mr. RODGERS** **!** We're on your side!" Serena held out her hands in front of her while Joanne retreated a step never having been confronted by a raging giant Kodiak bear before. "We're not Paladin! We fight against them. I'm Serena, I sent Hayley to warn you!" she shouted as Rick walked right up to them ready to give them a swipe of his paw.

' _It may be a false alarm, just go get Alexis just in case,_ ' Rick thought to Kate and got a reply.

"Please Rick, we mean you and your little girl no harm. I'm Serena Kaye and this is Joanne Delgado. We work for an organization that's fighting against Paladin. It's why I sent Hayley Blue and her clan to warn you that Paladin was here to take your daughter." Serena was starting to relax since he had stopped. "Are we good? Because we would really like to talk to you," she said and watched as the really big bear that could kill both of them in seconds nod his head. "Can we go inside so you can put some clothes back on so we can talk?" Serena asked him. They watched the bear turn around and start lumbering to the house.

"I never knew Kodiak bears were so big," Joanne commented as she walked down the ramp next to Serena. "He's definitely the biggest I've ever seen in person," Serena agreed and didn't see Rick grin.

Rick made his way upstairs and into his room to get some clothes noticing that the women were picking up the clothes he had stripped out of on his way out to them. Serena collected them and threw them on the sectional upstairs while they both looked around. "Not my style, but I like it," Serena said. Joanne was nodding her head. "A little too woodsy for me but I can appreciate the style and it looks nice. This room is nice and big."

It was now that two big dogs came rushing out of Alexis's bedroom where they had been sleeping. Serena's and Joanne's voices alerted them to intruders. "Oh crap!" Serena looked up as two big Dobermans rushed out of a room, looked down at them, and took off for the stairs. Joanne, however, was working as fast as she could to strip off her clothes so she could shift.

Midas and Maggie were just about to them when Joanne finally made it and shifted into a mountain lion that was bigger than normal size and growled at the dogs. The dogs hit the brakes, showed their teeth, and growled at her. If Alexis had been here they would have jumped into a fight without stopping, but she wasn't and Rick wasn't in sight either. Joanne wasn't interested in a fight either so she just stood there growling back at them. "Good dogs, we're nice. We don't want to cause trouble." Serena held out her empty hands.

"Midas, Maggie, come here," Rick's voice called out getting them and Serena to look up at Rick standing above them dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt while barefoot. Midas and Maggie ran back upstairs where he sent them into Alexis's bedroom and told them to stay.

"So why are you here?" Rick asked once he has made it downstairs. "Is there a place where Joanne can put her clothes back on?" Serena asked as Rick was looking at the mountain lion in his living room. "The kitchen is through there," he gestured. "And there is a half bath at the front door." Serena gathered up Johanna's clothes and Rick watched both of them go to the half bath while only Serena returned. "May I sit?" she asked trying to not look dangerous, since compared to Joanne, she wasn't. At least not without a weapon that was still in her plane she wasn't.

Rick motioned and sat across from her. "I run an organization that has members almost everywhere. They are all shifters of various types depending on the area. My friends and I have been fighting Paladin for a few years at this point. Paladin, in case you didn't know, is an organization that is headed by a person or persons unknown. They used to be run by a woman named Sophia Turner. We're not certain why but she was fired, and by fired I mean she was killed by the organization that she was running. She in turn was replaced by a man named Eric Vaughn," Serena explained.

"The multi-millionaire on the verge of being a billionaire?" Rick asked in surprise. "That's the one. We managed to plant a spy and found out from her that he planned on taking your daughter. I sent Haley and her clan to warn you and try and help you. She informed us what happened here. I'm glad that your daughter is safe," Serena told him just as a now dressed Joanne entered.

Rick had been relaying everything to Kate who had been silent as she listened.

"So why are you here?" he inquired. "We recently gave Paladin a serious blow. In the process we killed two of the council members since we got lucky and they showed up at the same location. At that site we found out the names and addresses of the remaining three members of the council. However before we could get to them, Paladin assassinated them. We think Paladin is cleaning house in the belief that their organization here in the U.S. has been compromised, which it has. We're running out of Paladin members that we know about fast. We're speculating that Paladin has eyes out here since Eric found out about you somehow. We're here to get our hands on him before Paladin can kill him as part of their house cleaning," Serena explained.

"We're hoping you can help us. Do you have an idea as to who it might be or at least a guess?" Joanne spoke for the first time. But just then Rick's laptop started beeping. "There's someone at the border of my property." He got up and went to his laptop to see where the alert is located. "He has perimeter sensors!" Joanne whispered in disbelief to Serena. "It's the entrance to the driveway, likely a car," he told them. _'Kate is that you?_ ' He asked her. _'I have Alexis, I took her out of school. You didn't tell me I was on the clearance list. We're approaching the house,_ ' she replied.

"My mate will be here in a moment," Rick told them as he left the laptop and headed for the front door. "He has a life mate?" Joanne murmured to Serena. That was something they didn't know.


	38. Chapter 38

**CH38**

Rick got slammed into. "Hi Dad!" Alexis was always glad to see him. "Kate brought me home," she announced excitedly. They both also heard nails on the stairs as Midas and Maggie raced down the stairs to get petted, happy to see that their best friend was home. "Why don't you take Midas and Maggie up to your room and play for a little while," Rick suggested to get her out of the way so they could talk. "Okay." And Alexis ran up the stairs with the dogs passing her easily and into her room.

"You're sure they're not Paladin?" Kate questioned him as she reached the door. "You should see what they came in. If they were Paladin there wouldn't much left of this house," he told her which for him was so far the biggest plus he had to work with.

Kate followed Rick into the living room and found a lovely blonde and a younger but equally lovely brunette standing there. Kate was still in her uniform but without her belt or weapons. "Hi I'm…" Kate, however, was interrupted. "Detective Beckett!?" Joanne hadn't expected to find her here. Kate had a 'How do you know me?' look on her face, though she did look familiar somehow. "I'm Joanne Delgado. You investigated the death of my mother. She was killed as part of a series of jewelry thefts from homes." Joanne gave her a clue. A light bulb went on over Kate's head. "Joanne, your mother was…" Kate didn't want to say 'stuffed into a safe,' it sounded too insensitive. "I want to thank you again for finding who did that to her. It means a lot." Joanne stepped up to hug Kate quickly before backing off.

"This is Serena Kaye, my…fiancée." Joanne showed that she wasn't ashamed of the person she loved most in her life. "Fiancée," Kate repeated a little shocked. She hadn't taken Joanne to be a lesbian at the time, but then she hadn't spent that much time with her.

"Your life mate and bonded to each other?" Serena questioned. Kate looked up at Rick and took his arm with both of hers. "Yes," Kate stated with conviction. "Good. Then it means you likely already know everything I've told Rick here," Serena pointed out that she had knowledge of what that meant. "I do, and I think I know who you are after, too. Our local sheriff, my boss," she told them. "Please sit," Rick offered and they split up into couples who held onto each other.

"I've had my boss investigated and found a number of things that suggests that he is involved with Paladin, beginning in 1995. Plus he bugged me and my car and sent me out to Rick's father's area. I surmise the bug in my car would allow them to map every road that I traveled on. I was turned away by heavily armed men," Kate explained.

"We have reason to believe that he is why you two were targeted during Paladin's attempt to take your daughter. We have recently shutdown a research lab that was being used to create an aerosol that would kill only Mountain Lion shifters. I couldn't allow my friends or my…fiancée to be killed," Serena stated. "You're a shifter?" Kate looked at Joanne having never suspected. Even if at the time she had never even thought such a thing was even possible. "And you?" Kate looked at Serena.

"No, I'm just a human and we're not life mates or bonded, but it doesn't stop me from loving her." Serena squeezed Joanne's hand. "Finding a life mate is a crap shoot, but I can't think of anyone more deserving to be my life mate," Joanne admitted.

"Actually I know someone who might know of a way to fix that, not that it will be easy to get the information out of him." Rick had a good idea it could be done based on what he remembered. "Your father," Serena said flatly, getting Rick to nod his head. "I'm aware of the animosity between you two and we may need to pay him a visit anyway while we're here," Serena mentioned. "You'll be stopped at the border by his security forces. Plus he already knows Paladin is in the area," Kate warned.

"Well, as for being stopped I don't think that will be a problem." Serena turned to look out the wall of windows where their plane could be seen in the distance. Kate got up and walked to the windows. "I don't think I've seen anything like it. What are those on the end of the wings?" The whole thing looked weird.

Serena and the others walked up next to Kate and looked out the windows. "That's my most precious toy. It's a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, a heavily modified Osprey. She carries twin electric Gatling guns up front. She also has 2 Hellfire missiles, 2 Sidewinder heat seeker missiles and 2 Sparrow radar guided missiles along with flares and chaff dispensers for defense. I got my hands on the spare that was built back in 1995. The first one flew in 1989 but never went into production."

"I gave it to someone who modified it for me. If you know what you're doing, she can do some amazing things. She's part plane and part helicopter. The engines on the end rotate between horizontal to fly like a plane or vertical like they are now to fly like a helicopter or anywhere in-between."

"The only real drawback at the moment is its range and the amount of maintenance on the motors. What she really needs is a way to dissipate the heat build-up when the nacelles are in the vertical position like they are now. Hovering for long builds up heat that isn't dissipated very well." Serena was hoping for a fix soon. The people who had modified it for her promised to look into it for her.

"We're simply going to land at his front door and then knock." Serena was smiling knowing that even talking with Hunt was going to be anything but simple. He was notorious in the shifter community.

"Is your sheriff in his office?" Serena inquired. "He was when I left to get Alexis out of school," Kate replied. "Good. Joanne and I are going to go suit up and you can drive us there. We're taking him," Serena said abruptly. "You actually think he'll go quietly? He's the duly elected county sheriff and you're going to take him where?" Kate questioned her. "Oh, he'll come alright or I'll fill him full of holes. And as to where, she's sitting right out there and then over to talk with Hunt, who is going to listen like it or not," Serena told them. "You can come if you like. Bring Alexis, she'll be perfectly safe," Serena said. "His security chief lives in an attached building of the main house," Rick warned her. "Oh, I know. I have detailed satellite photos of every square foot of the place including the community that he's built. That includes his mining operation and the casino/hotel that he has built in South Dakota. Based on the number of cars alone his casino/hotel is doing pretty well," Serena mentioned which Rick told she knew a lot.

"Let's go suit up love. We need to pick this guy up before Paladin kills him in their wholesale house cleaning," Serena told Joanne. "House cleaning?" Kate didn't understand. "We've had some major successes lately and we think Paladin is cleaning house in the belief that their people have been infiltrated, which they have been. We need to get to your sheriff before they eliminate him," Serena explained. Kate and Rick watch them walk out to their plane, only to come back suited up for a war.

Rick remained behind with Alexis while Kate drove her two new friends to the sheriff's office, wondering just what these two had planned. "I'm glad you have recovered from your mother's killing. The way she was killed was…" Kate couldn't think of a good word."Gruesome?" Joanne offered. "She had her back broken and was stuffed into her own wall safe along with having her finger cut off to get to the ring she wore. I've never forgotten that day. I still see her stuffed into her own safe every day. It's never gone away. Finding Serena, however, has softened that day greatly. I don't know where I would be without her," Joanne said quietly.

"And you're a shifter," Kate stated. "May I ask what kind?" She was curious. "I'm a mountain lion," Joanne told her. "And you lived in the middle of Manhattan?" Kate asked incredulously. "My father was a mountain lion and taught me a lot before he died when I was little. My mother wasn't a shifter and she needed me after he was gone, so I adapted. I'm much happier living where I am now though. I have a family that cares about me and someone who loves me," Joanne admitted.

Kate parked out front. "You're sure you want to do this?" she asked them. "We'll be fine, we've taken on a lot worse than a simple county sheriff and a few deputies. No offense. You can stay out here if you like, we won't be long," Serena offered. Kate had left her weapons at the desk she was using and had forgotten about them in her rush to reach Alexis. "No, I'm coming. Maybe you could use back-up," Kate said and Serena nodded as she and Joanne readied their weapons and took the safeties off.

Anyone who worked for Paladin wasn't likely to come quietly.

Serena went in first and got everyone's attention just by the way she was dressed. She was followed by Joanne walking in dressed the same way and they never even noticed Kate followed behind them as she walked to the desk she was using. Serena noticed right away that there were two unarmed women and one man who wasn't in uniform, also unarmed. That left the four that were in uniforms and armed with simple service weapons.

Serena walked to the office that was mostly windows followed by Joanne who stopped at the door and watched everyone in the room. "Christian Dahl. I'm Cynthia Dern, you are under arrest," Serena stated keeping her hands on her weapon.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Do you know who I am?" He had friends. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. You're a known informant for a terrorist organization. Now stand… slowly. Do not do anything stupid," Serena warned him. "You have just made your last mistake," Dahl said rising slowly, though as he did his hand dragged slowly across his holstered weapon. Serena pushed her automatic weapon a fraction out in front of her. "Please do. Give me a reason to spare the tax payers money to convict you and hold you in prison for the rest of your worthless life," Serena mocked him.

Suddenly a short burst of silenced 9mm rounds sounded from Joanne's weapon. "Don't! Now be a good boy and finish drawing your weapon and drop it on the floor," Joanne told him. "That goes for the rest of you. Unless you want to join your boss in prison."

His desk had a number of holes in it now as he pulled out his weapon and allowed it to fall to the floor. "Don't even think about it," Kate informed the deputy in front of her as she shoved her weapon in the back of his neck. "Now pull it out nice and slow." She snatched it from him and jabbed her weapon in his neck once more to enforce her point. "Traitor," he spat at Kate. "You're the traitor here for willingly working for a bastard that rats out people to terrorists. How do you think he got the money to buy the boat he has, the quads that he has, the yearly trips with his family to Hawaii, Paris, and other places? Why he has a brand new car year after year and not just the one he drives for work?" Kate asked them amazed at their naiveté.

"Carefully," Serena warned him as she watched him remove his weapon and place it on the desk. "Now the cuffs," she told him and took them from him. "Turn around." And she cuffed him. With his back still facing her, she removed a small wand she was carrying and scanned his body and came back clean. "Let's go Dahl. I have a jail cell with your name on it waiting for you," Serena informed him. "You've got nothing on me." Dahl was still defiant. "Actually I'm doing you a favor. Sophia, who you ratted out people to, is dead, as is Eric who was your next contact. All 5 of Paladin's council members are dead. Paladin is cleaning house, so it's only a matter of time before you drive home and have your house blow up on you with your family in it. NOW MOVE!" Serena jabbed the end of her silencer into his back.

"Door," Serena told Joanne who moved to the front door, opened it to check outside, and saw nothing to worry about. "Deputy?" Serena called as she pushed Dahl out the door. Kate moved to the door. "You honestly never questioned why someone who used to be a homicide detective in New York City was driving around out in nowhere? And you people call yourselves deputies," Kate told them with disgust. "More like lemmings," she finished. Kate backed out the door and got behind the wheel along with Joanne up front and Dahl, with Serena jabbing her weapon into his side, behind her. "Where to?" Kate asked. "Home," Joanne told her which had Kate driving to Rick's house since it was becoming home to her, plus that was where their plane was located.

"You three are as good as dead." Dahl was still defiant. Serena simply jabbed him with her weapon causing him to grunt a little. "We're not the one that used to be a deputy and then became sheriff while aligning himself with an organization that murders people," Serena countered. "Animals are not people," Dahl said self-righteously which damned him in their eyes. "I would think before you open your mouth again," Serena warned him as she moved her weapon to his knee cap. "Unless, of course, you would like to be stuck in a wheelchair around all of those other inmates who spend their days using weights building up muscles," Serena informed him.

The rest of the ride was done in silence. "Go get Rick and his daughter, you're coming with us. It's high time we put an end to this if you and Rick ever want peace," Serena said to Kate who went inside.

Serena opened the ramp and they started inside. "Secure our guest and wait for the others," she told Joanne who planted Dahl down and tied him to the wall securing system meant to tie down heavy cargo. Rick, Kate and Alexis joined Joanne. Rick, however, walked right over to Dahl and wasted no time in hitting him square in the jaw almost breaking it. It did knock him out as blood drooled out of his mouth. "Rick?" Kate took hold of his arm. "This piece of scum sold out my family and almost had Alexis taken from me," Rick snarled, breathing heavily as he defended his actions. "Please don't step down into the gutter with him babe. You're better than that," Kate pleaded with him. Rick looked at her and then backed up to sit down facing the now unconscious and bloody Dahl, the most hated man he could think of next to his own father.

Joanne joined Serena in the cockpit, sat down, and closed the ramp. "Where are we going?" Joanne inquired since she knew they were not handing Dahl over to anyone. Certainly not the FBI or any other law enforcement agency. "We're going to go talk with Hunt and put an end to this mess," Serena informed her as she continued her checklist. Joanne only stared at her like she had lost her mind but began powering up her engineering screens. This was going to be a short hop, followed by all hell breaking loose.

Joanne was right as Serena literally landed in his driveway in front of his garage and turn around area. It was a tight fit. Serena had probably hacked the tops of a few trees off on her way in. She was shutting systems down as Joanne dropped the ramp and each picked up their weapons and led everyone except Dahl who was left behind.

Serena and Joanne saw Hunt standing at the front door waiting. Even from this distance he didn't look happy. He became even more pissed off the second he spotted his son, his slut, and the bastard of a child. Rick had snuck out of the community and ran off to New York City. Then he had the gall to get some obscure woman pregnant, not the one he and his wife had so carefully picked out for him. He didn't know the woman that his son had been stupid enough to marry let alone get pregnant, but it only solidified his belief that his son was a failure and that meant so was he. That just wasn't acceptable. His dream for his son was still intact. After he convinced his son he would get rid of the albatross hanging around his neck and reintroduce him to the woman he was expected to marry and have children with.

However seeing his slut and this bastard yet again after they had snuck out of here last time like cowards was the last straw. He instantly changed into a bear, shredding his clothes as he did and charged. The slut and the bastard had to go and likely these two as well and then he would explain to his son his position in life, once and for all.

Kate had had enough. Why couldn't this Neanderthal understand the lessons he was being taught? She charged at him as a human but by the time she cleared the tail of the plane she had shifted into a dragon and easily reached out and grabbed Hunt. She saw him trying to bite through the scales on her hand and brought him up to her mouth. She opened her mouth and roared in his face, causing spittle to splatter over him. She then slammed him down into the concrete driveway, fracturing it and embedding him 3 feet into the ground.

It was then she heard the sound of weapons fire and felt the rounds pinging off her scales. Kate didn't have the time or power to stop the dragon within her and found herself rearing back and inhaling deeply. She leveled her head at Hunt's chief of security and let loose a breath weapon of a power few had ever seen. Seconds later his burnt bones fell to the ground while everything else on him was burnt to ash. The entire corner of the mansion along with a few trees simply vanished leaving tiny fires that would burn themselves out over time.

What Kate didn't see were Serena's and Joanne's reactions to what they had just witnessed. Rick was equally slack-jawed as he watched Kate burn a man to nothing, even though Serena and Joanne were about to fill him full of holes.

Next Martha came charging out as a bear bent on defending her husband. _'_ _ **KATE! NO!**_ _"_ Rick screamed in his mind. Kate, however, was back in charge and was aghast at what her dragon had done. Granted he was trying to kill her, but there had to have been another way. Her delay allowed Martha to reach her and start biting at the claw that was holding her husband to the ground. She simply grabbed her with her other hand and threw her up against the house. The problem was Kate didn't know her own strength as they all watched as Martha burst through the logs of the house and didn't stop until she hit the stone fireplace. Kate turned her wrath on Hunt who was still conscious and looking up at her when she lowered her head and roared at him yet again. This was all his fault. If this asshole hadn't been so damn pigheaded, no one had to get hurt or die.

' _Kate, babe. Please come back. You're a gem dragon not a black dragon_ _,_ _'_ Rick called out to her which got her to turn her head to look at him with Serena and Joanne and more importantly, Alexis standing next to him. _'What have you done?'_ Kate demanded of the dragon inside her. Kate had never felt such rage before. So much power and she was only going to get more powerful as she got older according to the book that she hadn't as yet finished reading.


	39. Chapter 39

**CH39**

Kate was back in control as the dragon inside was now contrite and passive. It allowed her to turn back into a human, even if that did leave her naked just standing there. She turned to look at Rick. _'Help me?_ ' She was afraid and ashamed to be a dragon. Had her father done something like this? He was, after all, a true evil Black Dragon which was a part of her family tree. _'Always!'_ he replied and ran back up the ramp which made Kate's heart fall into her stomach. Even the man she loved was on the run from her. Only to watch him come back out carrying some coveralls that Serena had worn when she was fixing the engine earlier. He walked over to Kate, helped her into them, and then wrapped his arms around her giving her a much needed hug. She was never happier with Rick's ability to help her using a simple hug. It allowed her to bury her head in his chest and let her fear of herself melt away.

"We should get Hunt inside before anyone from the community comes up here to find out what happened," Serena said and got Joanne to start helping her drag Hunt into his own house. Rick hoped his quick hug was enough and left her to help them drag his body. She soon showed up to help with Alexis trailing behind, silently watching. Inside they found the fireplace damaged where Martha had hit it; she was lying unconscious next to it. They left an unconscious Hunt in the middle of the living room.

"So, a dragon?" Serena was willing to talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Kate simply latched onto Rick and silently asked for another hug and got it. Before she could say anything to Serena, Alexis was standing next to her tugging on her coveralls. Kate left the comfort of Rick's hug, kneeled down, and tentatively wrapped her arms around Alexis who remained silent.

"I only found out recently. My father was a black dragon; he was killed not too long ago. I'm the last of my kind," Kate answered Serena while talking into Alexis's hair. "I'm still learning to adapt to what I am. I've never been a dragon until ," she told them. Even Kate had lost track of time. In a way it felt like hours when it had actually been a number of weeks.

"And I thought a Kodiak Bear was powerful," Joanne whispered. It allowed Serena some time to think about what Kate must be going through, the kind of power she is capable of.

"We're going to go get Dahl and bring him in here. Maybe we can get something out of him while we wait for Hunt and his wife to regain consciousness," Serena told them and left with Joanne.

They were both soon back and dropped Dahl into a chair who spent his time looking at Kate. "What kind of monster are you?" he questioned, getting the butt end of Serena's rifle across his face opening up his cheek that started bleeding profusely. Alexis left Kate and walked up close to Dahl. "MY MOMMY ISN'T A MONSTER!" And she promptly changed into a bear, shredding her clothes, then bit his thigh. Not as badly as the other two men earlier, since then her life was on the line. Still Dahl screamed in pain.

"ALEXIS!" Kate was up and grabbed hold of her, pulling her back before Rick could even think to move. "Alexis, sweetie change back. Please, sweetie, change back. You don't need to defend me," Kate pleaded with her and soon had a naked little girl in her arms. "Thank you Alexis, but please don't do that again," she told her while holding her tight. "We need clothes for her babe," she pointed out. "And a first aid kit for Dahl." Serena added.

"The largest first aid kit is in the kitchen pantry. I should know, it was used on me often enough. Hopefully it's been replenished," Rick stated but made no move to go get it. What he had gone through while living here was breaking Kate's heart all over again. "I'll see if I can find something for Alexis to wear," he said then headed for the stairs and the master bedroom upstairs or maybe even his old room.

Joanne, in the meantime, headed for what she hoped was the kitchen to search for the first aid kit. While she was gone Dahl was rolling around on the sofa getting blood everywhere as he cried from the pain of his wound. "That little monster bit me!" he yelled, outraged that anything like that could happen to him. Serena simply reached down and dug her fingers into his open wound causing the blood flow to increase, not to mention the volume of Dahl's screams.

"You're not a monster Alexis. You're my brave little bear and I love you." Kate kissed her head and kept her arms around her. "I'm a brave bear," Alexis half stated and half questioned. "Yes, you are and your father and I are proud of you." Kate kept her hold on her.

Joanne returned first and gave the first aid kit to Serena who handed her weapon over to Joanne. "First we're going to have a little talk, then we'll look into not letting you bleed to death," Serena told him. "Fuck off monster lover." Dahl was still defiant. She plunged her fingers into his open wound yet again as she gripped his leg, causing him to scream in pain yet again. "Wrong answer," she informed him.

"Love, you want to go look in the kitchen for any cleaning chemicals, especially if it has ammonia listed in the ingredients," Serena asked her and Joanne walked back to the kitchen. Rick and Joanne returned at almost the same time. He helped Alexis into some very oversized clothes while Joanne handed a spray bottle to Serena. "I found something with which to polish stainless steel," Joanne told her.

"Now Mr. Dahl, I have questions and you are going to provide answers," Serena informed him. "I want my lawyer." Dahl spoke through his gritted teeth due to the pain in his leg. "That will not be happening Mr. Dahl. I'm not associated with any law enforcement agency. Now I'm going to explain how this will work using easy words so your simple mind can understand. I ask a question and you answer. You don't answer or I don't like your answer because I think you're lying and you are going to know pain like you have never felt before," she told him, and squirted the bottle to test that it had something in it.

Joanne left Serena to her work and checked on Hunt. "I think his back's broken and he likely has a concussion," she commented since the back of his head was still bleeding. From there she moved over to Martha. Just as she reached her Dahl screamed in severe pain.

Kate meanwhile stood up and took Alexis and Rick with her into the kitchen. "Serena's torturing him babe," she pointed out, not liking this turn of events. She was still technically a deputy for Weston County. "Babe?" She looked into his eyes and what she saw there she didn't like. "What's wrong? Please talk to me." Kate held onto Alexis with one hand while she used her other hand to stroke Rick's face. "Babe?" She finally saw some life in his eyes. "I don't like being in this house." His mind was presently replaying the whippings and beatings his father had subjected him to in this very room.

"Oh Rick." Kate let go of Alexis's hand and wrapped her arms around him. She began looking around 'til she found a door leading outside from the kitchen. She took hold of Alexis again and guided both of them outside onto the massive back deck hoping that would help. It didn't hurt that she couldn't hear Dahl screaming. Minutes later Rick was starting to look better. "I hate this house." He looked around and really noticed that they were outside. "Feeling better?" Kate asked, worried about him."Yeah, it's just hard to be here. It was never home," he told her. She nodded understanding why he would feel that way. She put Alexis in his arms. "Stay out here with Alexis," Kate told him and went back inside.

Kate made it back into the living room to find Martha had moved and was lying next to her husband with Joanne just a little ways away holding her weapon on both of them. Serena finished working on Dahl's leg and stood up. She walked over to Kate. "I'm aware you are not fond of our techniques, however if you had seen what we have you would be less critical," she offered as a reason for what she did. "Torture is wrong no matter what they have done. We have to be better than them." Kate could see the irony in her statement given what she had done earlier.

"Watch a biological agent specifically meant to kill a certain type of shifter so that they can kill all of them off without having to shoot them. Watch a clone roll around in complete agony with nasty pus-filled boils appearing all over his body and watch them burst killing him slowly and painfully and tell me what I did was so wrong. Dahl is still at least alive," Serena said, sweeping her hand in his direction. "Paladin is attempting genocide and all I'm trying to do is put a stop to it. All shifter clans I know of live with humans both in peace and in fear that they will be found out and treated as monsters."

"As bad as Paladin is, just what do you think the governments of this planet including our own would do if they found out about us? Lock us up? Run tests to find out what makes us so different? Relocate all of us into armed camps like the government did to the Japanese Americans?"

"I'm trying to prevent the genocide of all of us. What do you think will happen to you once word gets out that you are a dragon? A real, live honest-to-god dragon right out of our fantasy books and movies. Hell, Kate. Countries would likely start a war to get their hands on you. I can appreciate your moral standing, I really can. I just can't afford it if I'm going to win. So if I have to bend the rules a little to save my friends, which includes you now, I will. And I pray that God doesn't cast me out because of what I'm willing to do. Plus I have Joanne to keep me grounded if I go too far."

"Just be thankful that I limit it to an occasional Christian Dahl who almost had his hands on that little girl you love so much." Serena tried to explain what she did and what she was willing to do.

"I wish there was a different, better way," Kate sighed as she relented, understanding what they were up against. "You find a different better way let me know and I'll be happy to use it. For now I'm fighting a war, one I intend to win. How is Rick?" Serena abruptly changed the subject. "Hurting, this house is full of bad memories," Kate told her. Serena nodded. "His father and to a lesser degree his mother. Well, that's one thing we're going to correct before Joanne and I leave. Hunt has just fallen from the ranks of Alpha male who does what he wants with no repercussions for his actions. God is about to fall," Serena informed her as a groan got their attention.

"Jackson! Oh, love." Martha buried her face in his fur. _'Tell me how you feel,_ ' she asked him and felt the business end of Serena's weapon against the back of her neck. "No telepathic communication Martha or I'll be forced to render you unconscious again," Serena warned her. "How dare you!" Martha was not happy, she was the alpha female around here! "I'm the female that's in charge around here now and you and your husband have just reached the end of your dictatorship. Tomorrow there will be a temporary leader of this community until one is elected by the community," Serena informed her.

"You have no right. You're not even a shifter. I can smell your human stench rolling off of you," Martha countered. "And yet I have command and the blessing of all the other shifter clans save yours. I don't want to take it from you, but you and your husband have misused the power you have been given. Your own sheriff over there was just days from ratting you out to Paladin. A force that even you couldn't handle was just days from coming here to eradicate you and your community. Because of your husband, you would have fought and lost all alone and no one would shed a tear. But that changes as of today. You and your husband can either accept demotion within your clan or accept being exiled far away from here. However if you stay you will accept the new leadership because if you don't I will end you." Serena gave Martha her only two options along with a threat.

"You can't afford to have us talk so you will leave us alone, or we talk about your dragon." Martha played her last card. "Death it is then," Serena simply stated and chambered a round in her weapon and put a round into Hunt's knee, shattering his kneecap and then placed it on full auto and pulled the trigger.

" **NO!"** Kate screamed and watched Serena blast rounds into the hardwood floors surrounding both Hunt and Martha until her clip was empty. She quickly ejected it, slapped in a new one, and chambered a round.

"Joanne?" Serena called out to her. "I'll make the call and have everything ready when we arrive." Joanne knew just what Serena was thinking, they had been together for a while now.

Serena stepped away and let Martha hold onto her husband who, as long as he stayed a bear, would slowly recover from the injuries he had suffered battling against Kate's dragon. "Watch these two," Serena told Kate. She gave Kate her weapon and she and Joanne hauled Dahl back out to their plane and strapped him into place. They picked up the drug kit and went back inside the house.

"You think you have won my son but you are wrong." Martha tried to get into Kate's head since her own head was pounding from a concussion. She also had three broken ribs and four that had micro fractures.

"We love each other and we are bonded life mates so there's nothing you two can do or say that will change that," Kate informed her which appeared to have caught Martha by surprise. "And the bastard calls you mother." Martha tried again. "If you two want to leave here alive you will leave Alexis out of this. We both love Alexis with all of our hearts, something you have proven incapable of understanding. You are no mother and he is no father. He is a tyrant and you are a willing participant. Rick is a wonderful man despite your actions and he's going to live a long and wonderful life."

"All you know are beatings and how to try and degrade your own son, trying to make him into a monster just like your husband," Kate countered. "My husband…" Kate interrupts her. "Is a vicious, soulless bastard, who has no understanding of what love truly is and how powerful it can be. So tell me Martha, when Rick was born, what did you feel when you were handed that little bundle? Love or pure hatred?" Kate questioned her and got no answer.

"Go get Rick and help us move them into the plane, please," Serena asked her and soon the four of them were hauling Martha into the plane and securing her in place. "This isn't going to hold them," Rick pointed out, and watched Serena inject something into his mother. "It will now. Don't worry they'll both live, I have no real intention of killing them," Serena assured both of them and they went back to get Hunt and do the same.

"You two going to be alright up here alone?" Serena asked them. "My father likely has one or more cars in the garage that would fit him, we can use one to get home with," Rick told her. "What are you going to do with them?" Kate inquired. "They are being exiled while Dahl is coming home with me until he tells us absolutely everything he knows. I want that lead on what's left of Paladin. I'm hoping it will lead me to what they have planned next at the very least," Serena answered her question being intentionally vague.

"I'll be back, I need to help the community decide on a new leader. This one will _not_ be like your father. We're going to open the books and find out what Hunt has done with all the money this community has and is making." Serena was betting she would need Sarah's help with that one.

"Rick," Serena paused and sighed heavily. "I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to help you with your father. My only excuse is that I was spending all of my time helping my friends get two of our own back and combat Paladin where and when I could. I _am_ sorry." She apologized for her absence since she was the leader for everyone except the Kodiak Bears.

"It's not your fault. My father is who he is." Rick shrugged his shoulders glad that he would be getting away from this place soon. Serena moved in closer. "You have a good life now and someone who loves you, don't screw it up." And Serena and Joanne headed for the cockpit and raised the ramp.

Rick, Kate and Alexis were standing at the front door watching Serena take off straight up and then away over the trees. "Did she tell you where she was taking them?" Kate asked him. He shook his head. "Not sure I want to know, either." However he was a little conflicted. They were, after all, his parents even if they were incredibly abusive while he was growing up. At least they weren't dead.

"We need to find those car keys if we want to get home." He wanted out of this house. "See if they're already in the ignition or hanging in the garage, I'm going to check the master bedroom." Rick glanced up the stairs. "We'll be gone soon babe." Kate kissed his cheek, took Alexis's hand, and then went to where she thought the door to the garage should be.

Rick felt the draft from one side of the house and moved over to look at where the large dining room that could easily seat 16 people had been. It was almost gone thanks to Kate. He knew there used to be some really expensive place settings and servingware as well as .925 sterling silverware in that room. _'Remind me to never piss of_ _f_ _Kate_ _,_ ' he thought. _'That would be a good plan_ _,_ _babe_ _,_ ' she responded which had him chuckling. "I really need to be more careful what I think." This time he talked to himself.

He came back downstairs smiling and dangled a set of keys in front of Kate who snatched them out of his hand. "I'm driving." And walked back to the garage so they could get out of there. However she came to an unexpected halt. "Do you know where your father keeps the books? He was in charge of everything, right?" she asked him. Rick walked back over towards the front door but stopped just a little before it and pressed a hidden panel that allowed him to push away a tile to display a recessed floor safe. "I don't know the entire combination. I tried to learn it but I never really got to see all of it," he admitted.

Kate knew she was no safe cracker and stood no chance of opening it. Still… She handed the keys back to Rick. "Go get the car and take Alexis with you. Pull away from the garage, go down the drive some distance from here, and wait for me," she told him. "What are you going to do?" he asked curiously. If she knew how to break into safes that was news to him. Suddenly he smiled. "A CIA safe cracker who is also a spy," Rick whispered to himself. "What did you say?" she questioned. "Nothing, come on pumpkin, let's go home." He took her hand and headed for the garage.

Kate, however, started taking off her coveralls and walked outside with them, then tossed them behind her as far as possible and stood there. _'We do things my way this time, no more killing_ _,_ ' she informed her dragon before changing her form. _'One dragon grenade coming up_ _,_ ' she told her dragon and felt Rick drive past her and stopped a good distance away waiting for her. The blast wouldn't reach them since it would have to go through her first. She bent her head down, thought of spitting, and out came a gem that blew up on impact. _'It worked!_ ' The blast had blown away some of the wall surrounding the front doorway as well as the doorway itself, allowing her to bend over and reach inside to the floor safe. Using her claws she lifted away the pieces of the shattered safe door and tossed them into the room. "JACKPOT!" Kate was smiling widely. She changed back into a human and carefully stepped inside trying to avoid hot pieces of the safe since she had no shoes.

Kate gingerly pulled out 5 ledgers, ran for the car, and threw them into the back seat with Alexis. "Be right back." She hurried inside and avoiding the still hot edges of the safe's opening, picked up a bundle of cash in her arms. She walked back to the car, dumped the cash in and then went back again. The safe looked empty but she decided to carefully run a hand around the interior trying to keep from being burned, just to make certain it _was_ empty. It was a good thing she did, too. She found a flat, black portfolio wedged in the bottom and pulled it out. She put her coveralls back on and ran for the passenger seat. "We can go now," she told him. They had no trouble leaving the area and getting back out onto US85. They headed for her home and her mother.


	40. Chapter 40

**CH40**

"I wonder if I can make this my new cruiser for work?" Kate mused as Rick parked behind her Jeep. This 2001 Dodge Durango had everything her old one didn't. It was nice! "You need to make sure you still have a job first, though you do have all that information you got from your friend in New York. Plus everyone there heard him get arrested as you mentioned," he pointed out. Kate and he had been talking about what happened at the sheriff's office during the drive home.

"We'll find out tomorrow. What I could use now is a shower," she said longingly as they walked to the front door. "You and me both," he groaned. "Plus I should get Alexis in the tub." He stopped suddenly. "I don't have any clothes for her here." So much had been happening lately he just wasn't thinking. "Go home and get clothes for her and you. Mom can watch Alexis while I take a shower," she offered. "Good plan." He turned intending to go to his truck but was stopped by Kate who kissed him. "We'll be here babe," she assured him.

Johanna was in the kitchen making a shopping list for things they needed when she heard the front door open which got all three dogs to head for it instead of hanging around her in the kitchen begging for handouts. Kate and Alexis were delayed since they had to pet the dogs. Midas and Maggie spent a lot of time trying to sniff them because they both had a lot of new smells on them.

"What happened to you two?" Johanna looked them over. Kate was wearing dirty, greasy coveralls that were too big for her and she was still trying to figure out what Alexis was wearing. "We've…had a long day. I'm going to go take a shower. Would you watch Alexis? Rick should be here soon with some clothes for her." She didn't wait for a response as she headed for the stairs and her bathroom.

"How about a cookie?" Johanna offered which immediately got Alexis's attention. "So did something happen today?" she asked sitting down next to Alexis who had her hands filled with cookies. Alexis nodded with her mouth full of cookie. "Was it exciting?" Johanna tried another question and got Alexis to nod.

"Was Katie involved in this excitement?" she asked another one and got Alexis to nod again as another cookie was stuffed in her mouth. Johanna realized this was getting her nowhere so she got back up and went back to her grocery list. She would drill her daughter for answers after Kate came downstairs. Rick, however, was back first with clothes for both of them. "Do you have a tub downstairs?" he asked Johanna who nodded and pointed the way to the bathroom. "Let's get you washed pumpkin. Then it's my turn." He took her to the bathroom to put her in the tub.

Kate made it downstairs wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt. "What have you been up to Katie?" Johanna now had someone to answer her questions. "Rick and I met a couple of people today. One of them even knew me from when I was a homicide detective." Kate was still surprised about that. "Really, who was he?" Johanna guessed it was a him. "Actually it was a woman, Joanne Delgado. Her mother had been killed by a man who was going from home to home stealing high-end jewelry. She and her friend were passing through and Rick and I ran into her." Kate kept her answers simple. Her mother didn't need to know a whole lot about Paladin or Rick's parents unless he wanted to talk to her about it. It was his tale to tell.

"I'm sure you solved the case and gave her some closure." Johanna had faith in her daughter. "I did though I don't think she lives in New York City anymore either." Kate had forgotten to ask where they were and how to contact them. Still it was likely they would see them again.

"Sounds like people are escaping from New York City in droves," Johanna joked. "I'm sure the city will survive Mom." Kate was smiling. She was saved from answering anymore questions when the house phone rang. Johanna grabbed the cordless phone off the charger. "Hello? Oh, hi Oscar!" Kate couldn't help but notice that her mom's voice changed tone when she talked to Oscar. "Next week?" Johanna sounded surprised. "No, I would love to have you come take a look. Maybe you can tell me what they're doing." Johanna had asked questions but construction was just a little over her head. To her the place was a huge mess. "No, I'll come get you." Johanna listened for some time. "I look forward to it. I'm sure Patch misses Thor." Johanna laughed at herself which was music to Kate's ears.

Kate let her talk, went back to her dragon book, and picked up where she left off. Or at least she had until Alexis showed up with a towel wrapped around her head and came up next to Kate. "Why are you still wet Alexis?" Kate took the towel and started drying her hair.

"You go up to my bathroom and come back with my brush and I'll brush your hair for you," Kate offered and watched as Alexis smiled and scampered upstairs. It was only when she ran toward the stairs that Kate noticed she was wearing clothes that fit her, which told her Rick was here, too.

Kate was sitting next to Alexis and was slowly brushing out Alexis's long hair when a clean Rick walked out of her mother's bedroom. "Feel better?" she asked him and got a nod in response. "Much. I'm going to go get those ledgers that you grabbed," he told her, and went out to the Durango, and came back with the five of them.

She finished brushing Alexis's hair and pulled her dragon book into her lap. Alexis pulled a chair over next to her, sat down, and looked as well. "You can read that?" Alexis didn't understand a word if that was the right name for what she was looking at.

"Yes, I can." She ran her finger under a single line. "Before my wife fell to being evil, dragons of various colors mixed willingly, after that they all only mated with their own kind. It was one of the unexpected downfalls of the war," Kate read to her. The look on Alexis's face told Kate that she didn't see it. "My dragon is doing the reading and telling me what it says. Without her it looks like gibberish to me too." Kate kissed her head and went back to reading silently.

"What are those?" Johanna sat down next to Rick on the sofa leaving Kate and Alexis in the dining room. "I think they're ledgers that show what my father was doing. I know they own a uranium mine and a casino/hotel complex over in South Dakota. I just can't make heads or tails of this mess," he admitted. Expenses and other bookkeeping he left to the lawyers, certified accountants, and their bookkeepers to unravel.

"Give it to me." Johanna took it from him and started running her fingers over the columns. "If I'm reading this right they have a contract for the uranium that provides them an amount of 27.5 million dollars per year. The contract is good for 25 years and it looks like they are 12 years into the 25 years, which means they have collected 330 million dollars so far," she told him. "Then there are the costs associated with the mine including employee pay." Johanna tilted her head to try and make the math in her head easier. "If my math is right he is paying the people who work the mines peanuts. Barely above minimum wage." She couldn't believe it. "Hand me the next one." Johanna placed the first one on the coffee table.

She began running her fingers over the entries. "This one is the casino. If my math is right they are pulling in 24.8 million dollars annually before expenses and employee wages. Johanna tilted her head again. "If my math is good the people who work here are being paid minimum wage. Only a few people are paid more." She was thinking her math must be bad. What she needed was more time and a computer.

"Next." Johanna placed this book on top of the other and took the next one Rick handed her. Once again she ran her fingers over what was entered on page after page like last time. "This one is the hotel that's attached to the casino. It's pulling in an average $4.11 per room with 343 rooms which is just under $508 thousand annually. One would think a hotel would generate more money." Johanna didn't understand and yet she was pretty sure she was right. "OH! That's after expenses and employee wages. Five hundred eight thousand net. Okay, maybe that isn't so bad." She put it on top of the others.

"Another," she said and took the next book just as her oven alarm sounded, which got her to lay it down and head for the kitchen. "Dinner in ten minutes," Johanna called, getting Kate and Rick to set the table. He sent Alexis off to wash her hands.

"Whose books are those? I've never heard of a casino/hotel complex near here," Johanna said while they were eating. "My father's and the casino/hotel complex is on the far side of Black Hills National Forest just outside of Rapid City," Rick explained. "You didn't tell me your parents live near here. How are they?" Johanna asked him. "Mom." Kate shook her head trying to get her to stop. Rick placed a hand on Kate's. "She deserves to know," he told her and stopped eating.

"I was born and raised in a Kodiak Bear community a little northeast of here. Most of it is located in South Dakota. Much like Kate is a dragon, the community there is made up of bears," he explained. "I'm a brave bear," Alexis piped up feeling better about herself now. "Yes, you are sweetie, you're a very brave bear," Kate told her smiling that Alexis was finally willing to accept being a bear.

"That would make you…" Johanna tailed off. Rick finished for her. "A Kodiak bear, yes," he told her. "And you knew, Katie?" Johanna questioned her. Kate nodded. "Ever since that trip I took with Rick out to the lake north of here. He's a really big bear mom, really big." She was still amazed at just how big Rick was...in more ways than one.

Johanna was silent for a time while they went back to eating in silence. "Dragons, bears. Are there more kinds?" Johanna asked. Rick put his fork down and finished what was in his mouth before speaking. "Quite a few actually. I personally know of polar bears, black bears, various tigers. I recently learned of mountain lions and red-tailed hawks. There are probably more," he told her. "How many are there of you?" Johanna asked. "Last I knew the community was just under 100 but that was a few years ago. It has likely grown while I've been gone," Rick said.

"A hundred bears." Johanna tried to imagine that. "And yet Katie is the last of her kind."

"The book has our family history in it Mom. No one else's, just ours." Kate got up to retrieve her book. She sat down, opened it, then searched near the end of the book."Here it is: James Beckett, black dragon, the only child of Leonard Beckett, black dragon, and his wife Eleanor Beckett, white dragon. His father was Edward Beckett, white dragon, and his wife Edna Beckett, amethyst dragon. His father was Howard Beckett, sapphire dragon, and his wife Francis Beckett, silver dragon. It goes back over 1,600 years Mom. Sixteen hundred!" She was amazed at that. It also told her that if she had kids they could be black, white, sapphire, silver, or amethyst like herself, and that was just on one side of the family. She hadn't yet read the other side of the family, so there might be more dragon types. Or they could be Kodiak bears like Alexis. "I've still got a number of pages to go." Kate closed it and set it on the table.

"How are your father and mother?" Johanna inquired getting back to Rick's family. "After dinner Mom?" Kate asked her. Seeing the stubborn look on her face, "Please Mom," Kate pleaded with her to drop it for now. Johanna silently acquiesced but the look Johanna gave her told Kate that she owed her mom one.

Dinner was over and the kitchen was cleaned up; Rick suggested that Alexis take the dogs outside so they could get some exercise and do their business. "OK!" Alexis was happy to run with the dogs.

Johanna sat down and silently waited. "Mom…" Kate stopped when Rick placed a hand on her leg asking her to stop. "My father is in charge of the Kodiak Bear community and has been since before I was born. He is also a thoughtless tyrant who cares little for others. He rules by power and force."

"After I was born he started 'training'" Rick used air quotes with his fingers. "me to be just as ruthless and commanding as he was. His plan was that after his rule was over I would take his place and rule just as he did. It would be as though he had never left."

"Whenever I didn't do something fast enough I was whipped, viscously. If I even thought about fighting back I was beaten severely. If I provided a wrong answer I was either whipped or beaten depending on the topic or his mood at the time," he explained.

Johanna had her hand over her mouth with a look of shock on her face. "MY GOD! … What about your mother? Didn't she try to put a stop to this?" she asked only to watch Rick shake his head.

"My mother is his mate and subservient to his wishes. Mother also wanted me to take over for the family so my 'training' was something that was required in her eyes. My healing while in bear form is far superior to that of a human, though if you look close enough you can see a hint of the scars mostly on my back," he told her. What he said made Kate think. She had seen his back but hadn't studied it that thoroughly. What she was most interested in wasn't on that side of him. Still she made a mental note to look next time she saw him shirtless.

"I don't understand. How could a parent do such a thing? How could a parent not love their child? I don't…" Johanna shook her head. "But you were in New York City, I know you were. I waited in line to get my book signed," she told him. He sat up straight. "You were at one of my book signings? I've met you before?" Now Rick was the one who was shocked as he tried to think back to all of his book signings, attempting to see if he could picture her. "Don't bother. I was in front of you for all of about 10 seconds. Though when it came to the women lined up for your autograph I did feel a little out of place. You even signed the chest of the woman in front of me," Johanna mentioned while smiling at him. It did, however, cause Kate to smack him in the arm and glare at him.

"It must have been soon after my publisher and publicist talked me into cultivating a playboy image to help boost book sales. I was younger and far more stupid back then. If it wasn't for Alexis I might still be back there doing just that. Completely lost and miserable." Rick took one of Kate's hands in his and squeezed softly.

"And your parents just let you leave?" Johanna doubted that from what he'd said about them. "Oh no, between classes in school and classes at home with whippings and beatings, I found that I was pretty good at escaping into my imagination and was able to write about it. I bribed someone in the community to mail it to a publisher I found. It was almost three months before I was slipped a reply that they were interested in me."

"I had an airline ticket waiting for me in Rapid City, I just had to get there. I spent three months tracking and following the security that my father put together to keep humans and everyone else out except for delivery trucks. I snuck into a refrigerated meat truck from Rapid City after it made a delivery," he explained. "Didn't you freeze? I mean those trucks are cold," Johanna questioned. Rick shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a bear," he stated as if that explained everything.

Johanna opened her mouth to speak and thought about it and had to admit that it made sense. "And your parents did nothing?" If they were that obsessed with him taking over would they really just let him go?

"Apparently they found out where I had gone, just not exactly where. New York City is a big city, one that's easy to disappear into even if it's not on purpose. Plus early on I moved a lot until I met Alexis's mother. Even after she left me, I kept moving. I never thought where I was was good enough until I started looking for the best elementary school for Alexis," he said. He didn't know it at the time but his almost constant moving from one rental to another until he had Alexis probably saved him from being forced back home. It did explain how Hunt knew he had been married and had a child.

"So where are they now?" Johanna asked, worried that Rick was still in danger and by association so was her daughter.

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Serena was powering down to idle and followed Joanne into the cargo bay where their passengers were located. "Time to exit my nice plane you two. Please don't think of doing something stupid," Serena warned Hunt and Martha as Joanne worked at removing Martha's restraints. Once free, Martha rubbed her sore hands and arms and just sat there.

The second Hunt was out of his restraints he jumped up quickly, however Serena already had her weapon leveled at him. "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, you can't shift into a bear. The shot I gave both of you knocked you out but it also had a serum that prevents shifters from shifting. Since you were human at the time of the injection, human is what you'll remain. Plus you both know that if I empty my clip into you the bear inside you won't be able to heal the damage and you'll die," Serena told Hunt what he had already worked out. "NOW! Out of my plane!" Serena barked and motioned to them as Joanne pressed the button to open the ramp.

The second it began to open a blast of cold air hit all of them. The plane was already cold, but now it was freezing cold. "Where are you taking us?" Martha asked as she hugged herself trying to stay warm. "Right here actually. There's a small community a few miles that way, which is the closest form of sanctuary from the cold for over a hundred miles. It's a Polar Bear community whose leader is the strongest polar bear known by me or anyone in the shifter community. Should you be foolish enough to try anything, he alone can take both of you at the same time, let alone the rest of his family combined. They are expecting you and will put you to work. Something I'm sure neither of you know anything about," Serena informed them.

"We'll freeze to death long before we reach it even if we can find it at all," Martha complained as Hunt remained quiet since he could feel something happening. "Oh you'll make it as I'm sure Hunt has started to figure out. Have a pleasant stay." Serena followed Joanne back into the plane. Serena turned back for a moment. "Oh, one last thing. Should you be foolish enough to make your way back to your old community, I have an outstanding hit out on you. You'll be killed the second you set foot inside the boundary or onto Rick's land, and that person will become a millionaire." And the ramp slammed closed.

Serena heard Hunt roar his defiance. She sat in her seat and increased power to take off. Ten minutes later a very cold Martha and Hunt shifted into Kodiak bears and started walking towards their exile, never to see or hear about their son ever again.

"Hey what about me?" Dahl yelled over the noise of the plane. Serena simply smiled since she had a plan for him and started talking softly with Joanne over their headsets.

She was flying high enough to show up on someone's radar and made arrangements to land and do maintenance on her engines again as well as re-fuel. Four hours later she was landing yet again but not powering down completely, much like she did with Hunt and Martha. "Okay Dahl, time for you to exit my plane," she informed him and while Joanne covered her, she released Dahl's restraints.

Serena opened the ramp. "OUT!" She waved for him to exit down the ramp. Dahl wasn't sure what was going on. Outside the ramp's opening he saw trees and realized they had landed on a dirt road. What he was thinking was that once he exited the plane they'd shoot him in the back.

"Out Dahl, or I'll shoot your kneecaps out and throw you out. NOW, OUT!" Serena shouted motioning impatiently. And they both watched Dahl walk out. As soon as he cleared the ramp, it started to go back up and close.

Moments later he watched the plane/helicopter take off vertically and fly out of sight. First thing Dahl did was walk over to a tree and pee on it. After that he started looking around. What surprised him was that he knew where he was. He was only 3 miles from his home. He had traveled out here with his oldest son on one of the quads he had purchased with the money he had gotten from Paladin. Dahl was soon jogging towards home.

"You're sure this is going to work?" Joanna questioned as Serena landed yet again and shut down all power. "Paladin is cleaning house. We have Haley and her Red-Tailed Hawks, Damian and his Golden Eagles, and Stephen and his Turkey Vultures watching his house. Lance and his Bobcats will be here within the hour. As soon as any of them see anything we'll power up and swoop in, and if we're lucky, take some of Paladin's killers captive even if we have to fly them to the closest hospital."

"Dahl knew almost nothing about Paladin but the men they'll send to kill him will likely know more. It's a risk but Dahl is all we've got left to gain our next lead. Plus we have an ace in the hole. We have the only dragon in existence; we just have to convince her to help us if we need her." Serena opened the ramp and took the ladder with her so she could do maintenance on the engines again.

They couldn't afford for one of them to start acting up later.


	41. Chapter 41

**CH41**

"So when is Oscar coming back here?" Kate asked during a silence about Rick's past. "Monday of next week actually. He just called to tell me and to arrange for someone to meet him and pick him up," Johanna replied. "I'm not sure where I'll be on Monday." Kate really didn't know what to do now. The sheriff was gone and she had helped to take him down, so what did she do now? "I'm going to go get him so you don't need to worry about it," Johanna informed her. "Just call me if you need me Mom. I guess we can wait until Oscar gets here to see how construction's going on the restaurant," Kate mentioned.

Watching Alexis yawn got Rick up. "Tired pumpkin? You do have school tomorrow and the two days following." He stroked her hair as Alexis rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Time to go home," he announced. "I'll be right back," Kate said and ran upstairs.

"Oscar really is the best. Are you happy with how things are going?" Rick asked Johanna. "I don't know what I'd do without him. I'm so sorry I went ballistic on you that day. It was wrong of me but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. We had just moved and left so many memories behind." She knew she shouldn't have blown up on him. Rick waved his hand slightly. "No, you were right, I shouldn't have made decisions without you. That was my fault. I really wanted to help and I knew someone who could do it so I went for it. I'm just glad you like him." He was very thankful that Oscar was working out for her.

Kate came jogging back into the living room carrying an overnight bag and a uniform on a hanger. "I'm driving myself since I'll need a ride into the sheriff's office tomorrow. I'll see you after work tomorrow Mom, or earlier depending on what happens. Gotta go. Love you." She hurried out before her mother could ask about what was going to happen.

"Hiding from your mother?" Rick teased. "If I stayed I might never get to sleep because she still has a gazillion questions," Kate said, defending her actions, besides she wanted to go home with him.

He opened the passenger door of his truck and lifted Alexis into her booster seat in the back seat then patted the floor. "Okay, up you two." He watched as the dogs jumped one by one up onto the floor before jumping up onto the back seat with her. Rick went with it since he didn't have to pick them up, too.

Kate immediately went up to the master bedroom, changed clothes, and came bounding down the stairs finding Rick and Alexis getting ready to watch a movie. "I'll be in the exercise room." She hadn't been over to use it in days and her mother was still cooking meals to die for. She was afraid she was putting on the pounds.

Rick and Alexis only made it to half way through their movie before Alexis fell asleep on her dad. He smiled, picked her up and carried her upstairs, then put her to bed. He went all the way downstairs to the exercise room where he found a sweaty Kate pounding the crap out of the bag. "Have you thought about what you're going to do tomorrow?" he inquired.

"I'm going into the office first. I have my incident report to fill out and I want to talk to the other deputies. I have an appointment to see the mayor after lunch. I may be the new rookie but I still have more law enforcement experience than anyone there. So I'm going to go in and take charge. Dahl has to be replaced so I'm going to run for county sheriff," she said, sharing her plans with him. "Finally someone who isn't on the take in charge of this county," he commented. "My main problem is the other deputies. A couple of them actually tried to stop us. I don't know if it was due to loyalty to the office or because they're in it with him," she told him.

"Yell if you need help," he said and went back upstairs to make her lunch for tomorrow followed by going out the front door. _'I'm going for a run. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Alexis is in bed_ ,' he told her.

' _Do you want some company?_ ' She was almost done and tired but she would go with him if he wanted her to. _'I'm going to_ _shift_ _and run as a bear. You stay and keep working out_ _,_ ' he said. That was enough to get Kate to stop and run upstairs and over to the wall of windows in the living room as she watched Rick walk over to the tree line completely dressed. Moments after she lost sight of him she saw a really big bear running on all fours through the trees. It had been weeks since she had seen him as a bear and she wanted to see it again. Kate went back downstairs and began working out.

It was a couple of hours later and Kate was sitting in the living room reading when Rick walked back inside. "How was your run?" she asked him. "My bear is pleased. Buying this piece of land with all the trees was partly to make my bear happy, to have room enough to be able to go out and run," he replied. "So that was why your laptop kept beeping and showing a map where lights kept popping up in different places," she commented. "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you about those. I got a friend to send me some sensors and I planted them around the perimeter of my property. I wanted to know if anyone entered my property and where it happened," he explained. "That also explains how you always met me out front with coffee and my lunch," Kate suddenly realized.

"Come on babe, it's late and we both need a shower." She stood, took his hand, and pulled him upstairs to their bedroom. She tugged at him all the way into the bathroom where she began shedding her clothes and eyeing Rick until he did the same. She turned on the shower and soon the water was nice and warm. Taking his hand, she dragged him into the shower with her. The bathroom was really bright thanks to all the lights, perfect for what she wanted to do.

Rick started to wrap his arms around her with the intent of kissing her. "Uh, uh. Turn around mister and hand me the soap." It brought a smile to his face thinking Kate was going to wash him so he did as she asked. She took the soap and brought her face really close to his back. She began soaping up his back, but she wasn't paying attention to washing him. She soon found what she was looking for and traced a finger along the scar. It was barely visible, but still she could see the ripple of white that showed where one slash used to be. As she traced it with a finger she found another and ran her finger over it. "Kate, what are you doing?" Rick started to turn around. "NO! Don't move." She wasn't done; now that she had started she was going to finish.

She tried to count the scars on his back but gave up counting when she reached the high twenties. She kneeled down and started running her finger over the white marks on his butt as well. By the time she reached there her tears were flowing freely. He hadn't just been beaten, he had been whipped mercilessly. Kate stood back up and placed both of her palms on his back. Her fingers touching, she ran them over a set of scars while winding them around his body and buried her face into his back.

She didn't resist letting him twist around to face her and didn't try to hide the tears or the hurt on her face. "That was years ago Kate." Rick used a finger to lift her face up so she could look at him. However the look he saw on her face broke his heart. She was crying heavily, the tears flowing down her face, her lower lip quivering. He used his thumbs to wipe away some of her tears only to have them replaced with new ones.

"They don't hurt Kate. I don't even know that they're there anymore," he told her then pulled her into a hug. She had placed her palms on his chest and got her hands trapped between them. She buried her face in his chest and let the power of his hug take away her pain. "He whipped you. He literally slashed your back until it bled," she said brokenly. She used a couple of fingers to wipe away a few of her tears as she calmed down. "Hush love, it's long since over now." He rubbed his hand in calming circles over her back.

' _We_ _will_ _kill_ _that thoughtless beast the_ _next time we see him and I don't want to hear anything about it_ _,'_ her dragon informed her. Either pleading or a statement, Kate wasn't sure, but she didn't disagree.

Finally clean, she fell asleep still wrapped up in Rick's arms, yet feeling a lot of pain for what he had gone through. The power of his hugs barely helped.

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Rick woke up suddenly after a particularly vivid dream of Kate licking, kissing, and sucking his erection, only to find her doing just that. His running his hand through her hair told her that he was awake. She squeezed the base of his erection to prevent his orgasm which allowed her to climb up his body and place the head of his erection at her entrance. This time she was the one to rub it along her lips while listening to him moan.

Finally she slowly lowered herself down onto him until he was buried deep inside. She had stretched to accommodate his size and was soon bouncing up and down, slamming him inside her while rising up until he was almost out of her before burying him deep inside her again. Kate leaned down to kiss him while grinding herself on his erection. "I'm so close, so very close. Come for me baby. I want to feel you fill me with your come." She kissed him, bit his lower lip pulling it out a little, then screamed when they both climaxed. She looked in his eyes while her head felt like it was exploding. She collapsed, lying on Rick trying to recover with him still inside her. "I'm not sure I'm going to survive these orgasms," she whispered into his ear, which only got him to chuckle.

The next morning Kate was in her uniform and in her Jeep with Rick standing by her car door. "Alexis has school today, tomorrow, and the next day but is off the last two. Feel like going on another road trip? Just the three of us?" he asked her. "I can't think of anything I would like more." She met him half way for a kiss. "I'll let you know how things are going," she told him before driving off.

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Kate drove to the sheriff's office. She stopped outside and just sat there for a minute. She thought she was either going to have to pull her weapon to defend herself or that they were going to ignore her completely. She finally got out of her Jeep and went inside. What surprised her was the fact that the place felt so empty. "Beckett!" the closest deputy greeted her while the only other two deputies that were there waved since they were both on the phone. In addition there were two civilians that did the office work and manned the 911 line. "Where is everyone? Or is it always like this?" Kate had been continually out on the road and not in the office so she had no idea. "The other three deputies are the Sheriff's men. If their noses were any browner it would stink in here 24 hours a day. I'm guessing they're all at his place coming up with a plan," he answered her.

"So who's out on the road?" she wondered out loud. Who was out there keeping people safe? "Only Wayne, Quinn volunteered for the night shift. Wayne got a call just before you came in which will likely leave him out of the office for the rest of the day. So it's just you, me, and the office staff," he told her. "Oh, and Melissa called in sick. Well, technically it's her son that's sick, but since she and her husband both work she's taking the day off to be with him."

"How old is he?" Kate asked. "He's seven, why?" He didn't see how his age was important. "It means he's in elementary school and probably shared his germs meaning Alexis may end up sick soon as well." She was really hoping Alexis wouldn't be sick during their vacation on her days off.

' _Can Alexis get sick?'_ Kate asked him out of the blue, not explaining herself. _'_ _Come_ _again?'_ Rick didn't understand. Did she _want_ Alexis sick? What was he thinking! Of course she didn't. She loved Alexis. _'One of the kids in school is sick which means the other kids will get sick_ _,_ _'_ Kate explained. _'Oh! The answer is yes, she can just like any other little kid.'_ Just because she was also a bear didn't stop colds and other things as Rick had already found out. _'C_ _ould_ _she spend her time at home as a bear? W_ _ould_ _that help keep her from getting sick?'_ she asked him. However Rick didn't answer her right away. _'Babe?'_

' _Alexis has never spent any time as a bear. Her bear_ _'s_ _immune system should help her a lot_ _though_ _. I can try_ _to_ _get her to_ _shift into her_ _bear after school.'_ It had never been an option for her before now. _'Play bear games with her_ , _'_ she suggested. _'Gotta go. I don't think there's anyone in charge here!'_

"I have a meeting with the mayor after lunch. Something needs to be done. I still have to finish my incident report and will probably have to give it to the mayor. Now who's in charge?" Kate asked him. "We were thinking you are. Harris has the most seniority but he's out at the sheriff's house. You used to be a detective with the NYPD. That puts you way ahead of us in terms of experience," he told her. "But not local experience. I don't know that much of what happens in the county other than what I ran across while patrolling," she mentioned. "We'll take the roads if you'll stay here," he responded. "Fine. Please don't go anywhere until I get back from my meeting with the mayor," Kate told him and sat at the desk she had been using last time to finish her paperwork.

It was hours later and the alarm on her cell phone sounded. She had just gotten off the office phone with a citizen that had a question. Not a problem, a question. Working in a county in the State of Wyoming was definitely different from New York. "I'm headed out for my meeting. DO NOT LEAVE THE OFFICE EMPTY. I want at least one deputy in the office at all times and find out if Melissa thinks if she will be back in the office tomorrow or if she'll need more time off, please." Kate gathered up her equipment, her car keys, and left.

She was driving when her cell phone vibrated. "Beckett." She didn't look at the caller ID since her eyes were on the road. "KATE! How are things in little town Wyoming?" a friendly voice asked her. "LANIE! It's so good to hear from you!" She was elated considering what she was about to do. "What's wrong girlfriend?" Lanie had never heard her sound like that before. "I'm about to find out whether I keep my job or not. Our local sheriff is dirty and has been arrested," she told Lanie. "How does his being dirty and arrested affect you?" Lanie didn't understand that part. "I was part of the team that arrested him." Kate scrunched up her face. So that's what Lanie heard. Kate sounded tired and just a little bit guilty. "If you arrested him Kate then he must be dirty. What are all their names; I'll have the guys look them up for you," Lanie offered up Espo and Ryan immediately. "That's not necessary Lanie, I've already got enough on him to put him away. Thanks though."

"If you say so. Actually I was calling with good news. The guys asked Montgomery for some time off and I asked my supervisor. I got the week but the guys only got 3 days. We're going to take that time and fly out to spend time with you. You can show us what's so special about nowhere Wyoming. We already have our airline tickets, hotel reservations, and a car rental. Oh, and Kevin is bringing a pregnant Jenny with him," Lanie informed her. "PREGNANT? Really? I'm so happy for those two and you can cancel your hotel reservations. Rick has a spare bedroom and so do Mom and I," she said.

"We're not…" Kate interrupted her. "I don't want to hear it Lanie, you're staying with us and that's final." She absolutely wasn't taking no for an answer. "So you and this Rick again. Just how special is he?" Lanie knew something was going on. "He's a nice neighbor," she deflected. "Nice neighbor my ass, girlfriend. If you're offering up his house for us to stay in he's a lot more than a nice neighbor. Please tell me you two have finally gotten together," Lanie begged her.

"I've arrived for my meeting with the mayor Lanie, I have to go." She was telling a white lie since she hadn't actually parked yet. "Send me the details and I'll have your rooms ready for you," she said. "This is so not over Kate Beckett. You can't hide Rick from me forever." Lanie talked fast before Kate could hang up on her. "Gotta go Lanie, bye." And she hung up on her and parked her jeep.

Lanie's call left Kate even more rattled than she already had been. She was about to have a meeting with the mayor about her future. AND her best friends were coming out to see her and wanted to find out about her relationship with Rick and Alexis! She had no illusions about how that meeting would work out. _'We need to talk when I get home babe,'_ she told Rick. _'Why does that sound like bad news?_ 'he replied. _'I just found my friends from_ _New York_ _are flying out soon for a visit and we need to talk_ _,_ _'_ she warned him. _'That's great! I'll get to meet your friends and ask them embarrassing questions_ _about you!_ _'_ he said gleefully. Kate leaned her head against her steering wheel and groaned. The day couldn't get any worse could it? _'I'll have the spare bedroom ready for them,'_ he told her. That got her to sit up straight. He just automatically assumed that they would be staying with them and she would be staying with him in their bedroom. She shook her head to clear it; she had a meeting about her future to attend and needed to focus on that.

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Rick was driving Alexis home from school. "How was school?" he asked her noticing she barely seemed able to control herself. "School is almost over Dad and we can go camping soon!" Alexis exclaimed. "With your friends from school you mean." He got to the point. "P-L-E-A-S-E!?" she begged him. "I already said yes Alexis, we just need permission from their parents," he reminded her again, only to watch her open her little backpack for school. She pulled out four pieces of paper and tried handing them to her dad. "Just hang onto those pumpkin and I'll look at them when we get home," he informed her. He watched her lose some of her enthusiasm as she stuffed them back into her bag. "I'm driving pumpkin; I can't read them and drive at the same time," he told her, trying to make her feel better. "Sorry Dad." Alexis hadn't thought of that. "I do have a surprise for you tonight though," he offered while taking a peek at her to see her smile again.

He walked her inside through the garage. "I want you to go upstairs and get undressed," he told her, which got Alexis to look at him funny. "I want you to shift into your bear and the two of us are going to play bear games until Kate gets home," he said trying to sound excited. "Are you playing too?" Alexis was still uncomfortable with being a bear even though she was feeling better about not being a monster. "Of course! I'm the daddy bear and you're the baby bear! We're going to go outside and be bears until Kate comes home. Now go to your room, get undressed, and come back down here as a bear and we'll get going," he told her and watched his little girl run for the stairs leaving him feeling so much better.

Rick used the bathroom downstairs to undress after opening the doors that still had plywood where there used to be windows. The glass was scheduled to be installed in about a week if everything went according to plan.

He shifted; Rick was a huge bear weighing over a ton. He patiently waited while he watched a tentative little bear come down the stairs on all fours. The sight of her had him crying inside; his little girl looked so cute as a bear. He sat on his ass and held out his arms until Alexis was in them. It allowed him to hug her and take away her fears. He stuffed his nose into her fur and snuffled her causing her to wiggle. He let go of her, got back up, and walked outside. The sun was going to be up for at least another 3 hours. When he looked back Alexis was right behind him so he took off running for the trees while she ran for all she was worth to keep up.


	42. Chapter 42

**CH42**

Kate walked out of her meeting with the mayor in a complete daze. She started her Jeep and drove back to the office with her mind still trying to come to terms with what was talked about. The mayor had already been contacted about Christian Dahl's removal as county sheriff and that they were going to need a new one. Kate was convinced that was Serena's doing. He and his three blindly loyal deputies were now out of a job. If she found the deputies first she could tell them or he would if they called in or came by his office.

She sat outside in her Jeep for a minute to get her head back in the game. Finally she went inside to find the place with only one deputy and just two civilians. "Where is everyone?" If this was all that was left they were way understaffed. "The other two are out handling calls. Amy is at the 911 desk." He pointed to Amy who was sitting there typing since there were no calls. "We found a lot of loose papers in Dahl's office and Rebecca is filing, while Elizabeth is out…" He was interrupted when she came in through the front door carrying two cardboard carriers that had coffee in them.

"Coffee everyone! Oh, Deputy Beckett I didn't know when you would be back. I can go get you one if you like," Elizabeth told her beginning to turn to go back out. "I'm fine, besides after my day I could actually use something a little stronger than coffee. You have to go out to get coffee?" It suddenly occurred to Kate that Rick hadn't given her her morning coffee or lunch.

' _Where's my coffee!? And my lunch!?'_ she yelled at Rick. What she got back sounded like he was winded. _'Sorry, I forgot_ _,_ _'_ he admitted. _'Are you alright_ _? Y_ _ou sound funny.'_ Kate was more curious than concerned, unless he was on the run from Paladin. _'I'm outside playing bear games with Alexis_ _,_ _'_ he told her. Kate was pleased and began smiling. The two people watching her were curious as to why she was suddenly smiling widely. _'Never mind, carry on.'_ Kate left Rick alone until she got home.

"Something happen?" the deputy asked her. "The mayor wants me to run for sheriff and has made me acting sheriff until an election can be held," Kate told them. "That's great!" the deputy said. "I'll go get you that coffee…Sheriff, just tell me what you want," Elizabeth offered. "And why does this place not have coffee?" she asked again, only to watch them point, causing her to turn around. She found the Mr. Coffee-type coffee machine on top of a trash container. "It quit on us," Elizabeth explained.

"Can you buy a really good coffee machine in this town?" Kate asked. "You can even get one of those fancy espresso machines if you want. Not that any of us know how to use it," Elizabeth replied answering her question. Kate dug into her pants' pocket, pulled out her credit card, and handed it to Elizabeth. "Our coffee futures are now in your hands. Go buy a good one this time. One you're comfortable using and get some real coffee this time. Not whatever this place had been using," Kate told her and watched as Elizabeth smiled then started for the door. "And don't worry about the cost, just make sure you know how to use it," she called after her.

Kate moved to the desk she was using. "The sheriff's office is in there." The deputy pointed to the room with glass panels in the walls in the corner. It took her a moment before actually going inside and sitting down behind the desk. It felt funny and alien to her. Still she sucked it up and got to work going through the papers in the sheriff's desk and his personal files.

It took Elizabeth an hour but she was back with a really big box that had the deputy out of his chair to help her with it. He carried it over to the table while she went back outside and came back in carrying a large grocery bag. Kate's curiosity got the better of her. She had to see what was in the box. She came out intending to help to open it. "What _is_ this thing?" she questioned Elizabeth when she came back inside and handed Kate her credit card.

"It's a fully automatic coffee and espresso machine. You simply select which you want and press a button. The beans go in here since it has a built-in grinder or we can use already ground coffee, plus a milk holder that will steam it," Elizabeth explained. "It holds both beans and already ground coffee so it can actually make two different flavors or roasts without having to unload one to put the other in." She was proud of herself.

 _The Java 010 is a high performance super automatic espresso machine that allows you to enjoy first class espresso in the convenience of your home or office. Its simplicity allows even the coffee novice to prepare a real espresso, and even add steamed milk with the touch of a button._

"I also bought beans and ground coffee. Two different flavors." Elizabeth pulled out two of the bags that she had bought.

 _ **Whole Beans**_ _– Koffee Kult Dark Roast in a 2 pound bag._ _GREAT AROMA while whole, while ground, and while brewing. You will want to get out of bed just for the smell of this dark roast gourmet coffee. Cupping Notes: Heavy Body, Smooth, Cinnamon, and Bright with a long finish._

 _ **Already Ground**_ _– Folgers Gourmet Supreme Ground Coffee_

"The lady at the counter said these were two of her best sellers." Elizabeth defended her choices. Kate decided not to ask what the thing cost, she would find out when she got her credit card bill. Besides if this worked it would be worth it. "Just get it working," Kate told them and went back to her office.

About 30 minutes later she could smell coffee brewing which had her up out of her chair and standing next to Elizabeth as she made the first espresso and handed it over to Kate. She took a sip. It wasn't as good as what Rick made for her but it was nice. "I think we'll keep you," she smiled while teasing her and headed back to her desk.

After that she started going through the drawers to find what was in them. She found what looked like a pair ledgers filled with numbers and decided to take that home for her mother to look over. She also found the keys to the Explorer and found the list of cars they had to work with. Suddenly Kate didn't feel so bad about what she had been driving. "Something stinks in this place." She didn't like the list compared to the Explorer that was just sitting out there. It was time to make some changes. "ELIZABETH!" Kate yelled and soon found her in front of the sheriff's desk.

"Is there an inventory of what's in this office? I mean like how much paper for the copier we have? What kind of copier we have?" Kate stopped asking questions when she watched Elizabeth shake her head. "This list of cars we have reads like a list of scrap metal," Kate informed her. "It was all handled by the sheriff," Elizabeth said. "Well that's going to change. I want you to take a week, two if you have to. I want a list of everything we have in this office. Make and model of everything. Copier, fax machine, radio system. Include everything we need to run this office. And add the age of everything if you know it, or give it your best guess."

"The first thing to go as soon as I can arrange it will be the hunks of junk we're driving, including selling that Explorer sitting out front. Has that thing ever even been used for any job dealing with this office?" Kate questioned her. "No ma'am, I mean Sheriff." Elizabeth answered softly. "Ma'am will do Elizabeth. Please relax, I'm not going to bite you and I'm only the acting sheriff. We're still changing how this office works though. Get to work on that list. The sooner I know what we do and don't have the sooner I can start making changes," Kate told her. Elizabeth was smiling now. "Yes ma'am." And she all but skipped out of the office.

Thinking about all of the decisions that needed made got Kate to pick up the phone. There was only one person she knew of that might be able to help her. "Montogmery," the familiar voice answered the phone after just one ring. "It's good to hear your voice sir," she told him feeling better. "BECKETT!" Roy exclaimed which got heads to turn his direction. "How's life in Wyoming?" He knew from the guys just where she was. "Has Espo told everyone?" Kate shouldn't be shocked, but in some ways she was. "In that case I won't tell you about the copy of the satellite view of your house he got off Google that's tacked up in the break room," he teased causing her to groan. "And the answer is yes, I did give them time off to come out and see you. They've been told to expect to be grilled over an open fire for answers to questions everyone will have for them." That included Roy.

"Actually I have a question for you, sir. This place is driving around in vehicles that are barely in this century. I was hoping you had a contact to get new ones," Kate asked him."Actually I know just the person. The city is in negotiations to replace the Crown Vics with something else," Roy said that in a soft voice since he didn't need for everyone in the office to know. "Hang on let me find his contact." He was silent for a time as Kate waited. "This is Dodge if that works for you? And why are you being tasked with this? Your sheriff or mayor should be doing this." He didn't understand why Kate was involved in the process. "Our sheriff has been arrested and the mayor made me the acting sheriff until an emergency election to permanently replace him can be held," she told him. "You would be perfect for the job Beckett. Call me about anything. If I can help you I will, and here is his contact number," he said as she scribbled down the information.

"How's your mother handling the move?" Roy hated losing her but understood why she did it. "She's so much better now. She's opening a restaurant and I think she has a thing for the architect who's helping her," Kate said, pleased with how things were going. "Like your thing for a guy named Rick?" he grinned. Kate let her forehead hit her desk. "I'm so going to kill Lanie," she whispered as she heard him chuckle at her expense. "We're here if you need us Beckett, try not to be a stranger." He would like to see her too. "You can come out to visit, sir. We have lots of space. Bring Evelyn and the girls with you. I'm sure Alexis would love to meet them," she told him before she could stop herself. "I expect an invitation Beckett, and I'm happy for you and your mother." Roy hung up on her before she could say anything.

' _Why am I trying to deny it? I'm a bound life mate after all_ _,_ _'_ she told herself. _'And I love you_ _,_ _'_ Rick responded sounding out of breath. _'I wasn't talking to you. And what are you two doing anyway?'_ she asked. _'I'm teaching her how to toboggan down a hill as a bear. Go Alexis, go_ _!_ _'_ he replied cheering his baby girl on. It had Kate chuckling alone in her office.

Kate picked up the phone and called the number Roy had given her. She talked with him for a while explaining what she wanted and listened to what he could offer. "A week from today should work fine." She was hoping she would know what kind of money she had to work with after Dahl by then. "I look forward to meeting you and seeing what we can get." Kate felt better now about the cars anyway.

Each leased car would cost $8,000 per year as per typical terms. Plus a total of $8,000 a year for maintenance for all of them. The lease would be for two years with an option to buy at the end of the contract. He would take what they have now an sell them plus he would take the Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer and provide two PT- Cruiser Limited's in trade just for it.d

They would get the following list for $6 thousand per vehicle per year on a two year lease:

 **2 – Dodge 2500 Ram Truck.** The Cummins turbo diesel engine got a power boost, up to 235 hp / 460 lb-ft of torque - with a new high output option of a whopping 245 hp / 505 lb-ft of torque (manual transmission only). The manual / Cummins option's cruise control is now fully electronic.

 **4 – Dodge Intrepid Sedan.** Intrepid R/T features a high-output 3.5-liter SOHC V-6 engine that delivers 242 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 250 lb.-ft. of torque at 3950 rpm, and is complemented by a selectable dual-mode AutoStick transaxle and performance-tuned exhaust.

 **2 – Dodge Durango SUV**. The Next Generation 4.7-liter Magnum® V-8 engine and multi-speed 45RFE automatic transmission.

The PT Cruisers came free from the trade for the Ford Explorer, while the others would cost them a total of $56 grand each year including maintenance. They would all be modified for Weston County Sheriff's office including lights, computer terminals, and paint. Delivery was tentatively scheduled for 3 months from today provided she could come up with the money for the leases.

Kate initially wanted to use her Jeep for her personal transport as acting sheriff, however that proved to be impractical so she selected one of the PT Cruisers to use for herself. The two Ram trucks would be used locally only while the Intrepids and Durangos would be used by the 6 deputies with the ones who had worked here longest getting first pick.

What Kate didn't know was what to do about the three that had left their jobs to join with Dahl, besides firing them immediately. She supposed she should send them an official letter of termination and would order them to return the county's property: badge, equipment belt, personal communication device, handcuffs, zip ties (backup for handcuffs), weapon, and remaining ammunition. She and the mayor had a date to discuss how to hire replacements.

She spent most of the day searching the office and putting things into four piles: Must read. Read later. Shred. File. While she was doing that Elizabeth came into her office to look at her computer, monitor, printer, and scanner/fax machine as part of the list Kate had asked her for.

One of the items she was sure she was also going to have to negotiate was new computer equipment and likely new copier/fax/scanner machine. Kate got on the internet and started looking around. What she found was that $100 grand of office equipment would possibly cost them $4 grand a month on a 24 month lease term. There were nine desks total that had a computer sitting on them including hers.

What Kate found was that the very latest thing to come out was the Apple OS-X Cheetah as of March of this year. 2001 was proving to be a bad year so far. Stocks had taken a serious fall and companies were hurting and laying off people. She was also hoping that that meant deals could be had.

Kate priced out a lease for 11 new Apple computers to replace the desktop units they were presently using. Once her mother had an opportunity to go over Dahl's ledger and hopefully found some money, she would place the order for them.

 **11 - 2001 Apple PowerBook G4, 500 MHz, 256MB/20GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive, 15.2 inch diagonal display, slot loading DVD-ROM, 8MB of SDRAM video memory, built-in 2D/3D graphics and Airport card.** They had just become available March 24, 2001 and since this was June 27, 2001, that made them the latest and newest computer out there. Delivery could be as fast as 15 days and would include phone support for any set-up installation problems. These would also be a 2 year lease, just like the cars. Buying them was close to $4 grand each, leasing them for 2 years would be a lot less expensive. Besides they came with service and support that they would have to provide for themselves if they bought them.

She also priced out a lease for a brand new Xerox Workcentre 7535 Color Copier Machine Network Printer Scanner Fax Finisher with a Xerox Workcentre M20/M20i for free out of the deal. The 7535 was a large unit that would be used to handle all large projects, as well as scanning and faxing while the M20/M20i was a desktop unit that would go in her office. Both of them were Mac compatible. They were both on a 2 year lease and came with service and support.

She was more than ready to go home. "Who has the night duty?" Kate asked after the two deputies that had been out on patrol entered the office. She assigned the deputy who had been in the office all day as the night duty deputy; he could sleep on one of the cots they kept for overnight snow emergencies. And the staff person who only worked to cover nights off for the night 911 operators would be in to cover for Melissa. "We're short three deputies and Melissa who hopefully will be back tomorrow. I'll work up a schedule for who we have and bring it in in the morning. You have my cell phone number if you need me," she told them and started for the door before something nagged at her. "Does everyone have a cell phone?" Kate only saw one hand go up, which caused her head to fall to her chest as she sighed heavily.

"I'll look into getting one for everyone tomorrow; just remember they're meant for law enforcement business only. Do _not_ abuse them. Did Dahl do anything right around here?" Kate asked them. "Don't answer that. Things are changing people. If things work out there will be new official vehicles in three months. Hopefully in a month or so there will be new computers and two new copy machines. One will be a scanner/fax so you can scan a document and send it to your computer as a PDF and then turn around and fax it to someone."

"We've got a new coffee machine. I'll look into the phones tomorrow, is there anything else I should know about?" she asked them. "It gets cold in here in winter and the roof leaks when it rains heavily," Elizabeth piped up. "Tomorrow, anything else?" Kate questioned. "Before I forget - when was the last time any of you went to and passed a weapons course?" All she got back were blank stares. "I'll work on that tomorrow too. And I want to see your weapons before you go out on the road tomorrow. I don't want you getting hurt just because Dahl didn't care. I care! Things are going to change around here."

"Sometime next week we're going to have a person to person interview for each of you. If I can convince the mayor we may be able to change some pay scales also. Dahl is gone and my priority is you and the people we serve. Speaking of people, how many of you are married?" Kate asked and watched only two hands not go up. "And that's why things are changing. Have a good night and call me if you need me," she told them and opened the door to leave. "Is this what Roy did all day?" she said to herself.

Kate thought about what had happened since they had moved out here in mid-February, missing most of the winter. It had still been a little cold. It hadn't snowed when they arrived though it had the following week, followed by another dry spell. The last of the snow had been in late April and it wasn't much.

She had taken Rick out camping in mid-March after she was sure she was falling in love with him and had made love to him there. And had ended up being bonded to each other for life. It had scared her a little at the time, but she knew now that she loved him with all her heart. Being with him for the rest of her life didn't really scare her any. Kate could just hear what Lanie would think about that, let alone what she would say.

Had she done things too fast? After all she had been with Will for just over six months and had left him when he left her for his job. Like she was going to follow him everywhere he went! She really had been stupid to ever be with him in the first place.

It was just that it didn't feel rushed. She was way too happy for it to be too fast or a bad thing. Plus Rick wasn't asking anything of her except to let him love her.

But did her dad have to die and they move out here to find him? However her mother was living again and she was pretty sure her mother was interested in Oscar, so maybe it wasn't all bad.

School was ending soon; Oscar was coming out tomorrow and staying until the restaurant was open. Or so her mother had told her after finally getting her to tell her the truth. Why her mother thought she wouldn't want Oscar here baffled her. Both the restaurant and Oscar were good for Johanna.


	43. Chapter 43

**CH43**

Kate was finally home and parked behind Rick's truck blocking him in. She was walking up the stairs headed for the front door. It never even occurred to her that his place had become _their_ place and that it was home in her mind now. He had given her a key and she used it to let herself in. Midas and Maggie were just inside the front door crowding her for attention. "How have you two been? Behaving yourselves? Where's Alexis?" she asked them and watched as they ran down the stairs.

Kate had a new belt to hold all her equipment but didn't yet have a good place to leave it after entering so she had to leave it on and went downstairs behind the dogs. She was sure wherever Alexis was Rick would be with her. However when she got downstairs she didn't see either of them and the dogs were at the back door leading outside. "Not back yet I take it." She petted them and opened the door so they could go outside and be good dogs.

It looked to her like those two had Alexis and Rick's scents and were headed out after them. "MIDAS, MAGGIE! Come back here! Come on, you two stay here with me," she yelled at them convinced that they wouldn't listen to her. After all Alexis was out there and they weren't. However Midas actually stopped and came running back which was enough to get Maggie to do the same. She petted both of them. "Relax, she'll be home soon." She was hoping they would anyway. The sun was going to be down shortly.

She jogged upstairs so she could change into stretch pants and an oversized t-shirt that fell off of one shoulder exposing her black bra strap. "There probably isn't any dinner yet either." Maybe they weren't planning on staying home. Kate got on the phone. "Hi Mom. Are you cooking for one or four?" she asked her. "Four and I'm almost done so you need to hurry. You can tell me all about work when you get here," Johanna told her. "I'll pick up Rick and Alexis and be there as soon as we can," she said and hung up.

' _Where are you? I'm hungry_ _,_ _'_ she called to Rick. _'We're headed in, give us about 20 minutes,'_ he replied. Kate walked to the large wall of windows and watched, looking to see if she could see them. Sure enough about twenty minutes later she could make out a very large bear loping along with a little bear running for all she was worth right behind him. It was so cute and it tugged at her heart strings. It also got her downstairs with the dogs right behind her as she stepped outside and waited.

They were pretty close when they came into view. Kate slapped a hand over her mouth and shrieked with laughter. They were both a muddy mess! "Oh, no you two don't. You're both a mess, we'll be hours cleaning up the mud." She looked around and saw the garden hose rolled up not far away. "You two guard the door and don't let anyone in," she told the dogs and went for the hose. She uncoiled it behind her.

"You're first Alexis." And she began spraying her with the hose. "Hold still or I'll never get all this mud off you. Just be my little brave bear and suck it up. The sooner I'm done the sooner you can shift back into a little girl and go inside to shower," she told Alexis. Kate was guessing that the dogs could smell them as a reason why they didn't growl at the two bears.

' _How did you two get this filthy?"_ Kate asked him. _'Bear games,'_ he told her throwing her words back at her. _'And you just had to get filthy playing bear games_ _?_ _'_ She shook her head.

Kate stopped spraying Alexis when the water ran mostly clear. "Okay sweetie, you can shift back into my little girl and go inside to shower." She stood to one side and watched Alexis shift back into a little girl. "Hi Kate." Alexis was all smiles. "Did you have fun with your dad?" she asked her and watched Alexis nodding her head enthusiastically. "Good, well go inside and shower," she told her and watched her run inside dripping wet. "Please use the shower downstairs. I don't want you tracking water throughout the house," Kate yelled after her.

"Okay Rick, you're next." She started spraying him. _'Want a hug?'_ he asked her and took a step in her direction. He got water sprayed right in his face. _'No, I don't want a hug. And if you want to eat one of my mother's dinners you'll hold still,'_ she threatened him.

Actually he was really hungry. It was one of the drawbacks to being a shifter let alone a bear. In this case he'd been a bear for three hours straight. He needed lots of food to recover the energy he had used up; Alexis would too, so he stood still and let Kate spray him down. They were both quiet while she rinsed him until the water was essentially clear. "Okay babe, you're free to go," she informed him and watched him shift back into a human. A naked male human who immediately wrapped his wet arms around her and held his very wet body up against hers. "OH YUK RICK!" she complained, however any other complaints never materialized since he began kissing her while hugging her. It took all of her worries away then she started returning his kisses. He broke from the kiss and stepped back letting go of her. She leaned in his direction missing his arms and lips. She opened her eyes. "Now I have to go change clothes again," she complained. "Oh, no you don't! No more wet hugs. Get your wet butt in there and shower. I'm hungry and Mom's already done cooking." She took a step back away from him.

He was starving so he went towards the door only to be sprayed in the butt one last time. He listened to her laugh as he walked inside. Kate curled up the hose and went upstairs to change clothes. Now she was dressed in blue jeans and one of Rick's button down shirts since she didn't bring enough clothes with her to allow for wet bear-soaked clothes.

Kate met Alexis at her door as she came out dressed. "Did you have fun?" Kate asked her. "It was cool!" She was all smiles. Kate got down on her knees in front of her. "Alexis, sweetie. You know you can't tell anyone that you are a bear right?" Alexis looked a little sadder but nodded in agreement. "That's my good girl. And you know you can't shift into a bear in front of your friends or anyone else right?" Kate questioned her again and watched her nod.

"Mom, am I your little girl?" Alexis had her own question. "Of course you're my little girl." Kate hugged her even if her hugs weren't as good as Rick's. "My sweet girl, you do know that I'm not your mother?" she asked her, since this wasn't the first time Alexis had called her Mom. "You don't want to be my mommy?" The look on her face broke Kate's heart. She pulled her into another hug. "That's not what I meant Alexis. I'm not your birth mother. Your birth mother is your true mother. I can't change that no matter how badly I want to." Kate pushed her back just far enough to look her in the eye. "I would dearly love to have been your birth mother sweetheart. I love you like you are my daughter, but you're not. How about we stick with Kate for now? Maybe 'Mom' can come later? Please sweetheart? It doesn't mean I don't love you because I do." Kate kissed her head as they watched Rick wrapped a towel walk past headed for their bedroom.

"Now take the dogs outside to the truck. Your father and I will be right there. We're going over to my place since my mom has cooked us dinner again." Kate kissed her cheek and let her go downstairs with the dogs.

"Something I should know about?" Rick queried when he caught up to Kate. "Just a little girl talk, nothing to worry about. Hurry up and change babe. We're already running late." She gave him a quick kiss and walked out to move her Jeep since she had blocked his truck in, leaving Rick to lock up and meet them at his truck.

Midas and Maggie immediately found Patch and those three were off and running inside.

"How was work?" Johanna asked as she took dinner to the table. "Amazingly good actually. I brought a pair of ledgers with me that I need you to look at please. I think it's for the office's money. I need to find out how much the office still has and where it all went," Kate said, asking for her help after pulling the ledgers out of her Jeep while waiting for Rick. "I'd be happy to." Johanna offered her time. "We lost 3 deputies today. They're too loyal to Dahl who was arrested so the mayor fired them," Kate told them. "You met the mayor?" Johanna was a little surprised. "I had a meeting with him. He made me the acting sheriff until he can call for a new election," she said as she started eating. "That's great," Johanna and Rick said at the same time.

"I also talked to Lanie. She, Epso, Ryan, and Jenny, Ryan's wife. They plan on flying out here in two weeks for a visit. Espo and the Ryans will only be here for 3 days but Lanie will be staying for a week," Kate said.

"That's great Katie, I know you miss them. We have two spare bedrooms so they can stay with us," Johanna offered. "Actually I was thinking the guys could stay with Rick while Lanie and Jenny could stay here. Rick has more guy toys than we do and they might like it better over there." Kate offered Rick's hospitality without talking about it to him first.

"Pool tournaments, air hockey tournaments, X-Box tournaments, quad races!" Rick was very excited about having guests. She started breathing again since she hadn't had time to talk with him about it. "Except I only have one quad," he grumbled. "You can have timed races to see who is faster," she suggested before he started thinking about buying another one just for her friends to use for three days. She loved Rick a little more because he didn't object to her offering up his house without his knowledge to people he didn't even know.

"So are you planning on running for sheriff?" he asked her as they cleaned up after dinner. "I only told the mayor that I would think about it," she said taking leftovers into the kitchen and helping her mother put it in Tupperware for later. "And?" he asked as Alexis reached into the cookie jar that Johanna was holding open for her. "I've already started making decisions like I'm the sheriff so I guess I am." She really admitted to herself for the first time that she wanted the position. "We need to start kicking up your election campaign then," he told her. "Get the county's residents on your side and draw in campaign money. It's not that big of a county so you shouldn't' need much," he said, fully intending to give her a cash donation himself. He was even thinking of giving Alexis some money to give to Kate.

It was a couple of hours later when Johanna told them what she had found and where Dahl had hidden some of the money for himself. It was enough to allow Kate to do what she wanted to do. Actually there was an amazing amount of money still left to be used. Though the amount they had was what they had gotten January 1, 2001.

"What's interesting is the fact that the money on December 31, 2000 was exactly zero. It looks like Dahl took out the very last of it and put it into his account. This is a separate account that we're assuming is his since there has only been one withdrawal from it so far this year," Johanna pointed out. "It just doesn't say what the withdrawal was for," she added. "This is no way to keep books Katie. He's hiding money that only he knows about. He's a crook," she informed them both.

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Serena was just closing the engine cowling when Joanne came running up. "Hayley says her group has spotted a UPS delivery truck going down the road towards Dahl's house." Serena stopped what she was doing and just stood there on the ladder. It was possible, after all it was getting late in the day. His place might be far enough out that he would be the last or next to last delivery.

"Alert the others. Let me close up and I'll be right there," Serena told her, since it was equally possible that Paladin had stopped the truck, killed the driver, and loaded up a hit squad with Dahl thinking it was just a UPS truck. They might have even stripped the driver of his clothes and a member of Paladin would take a package to the door with a weapon hidden right under it.

Serena was just sitting down when Joanne got an update. "Hayley says a member of her family has mentioned that the truck has stopped at the fork in the road. Plus the driver is wearing a UPS uniform." Joanne conveyed what she was being told. It left Serena in a quandary. Should she power up and head that way or was it really a UPS truck with a real driver? Lance and his bobcats needed to catch them outside of the truck. They just weren't big enough to take on a truck that might have several heavily armed men inside. "We wait." Still it had Serena handing Joanne her start-up procedure card just in case as she sat in the pilots seat.

It was several minutes later and Joanne was holding her headset close as if someone was reporting in. "Hayley says the truck has stopped on the road to Dahl's house several hundred feet short," Joanna told her and then started listening intently again."Damien is reporting that one of his family has spotted a helicopter flying low and fast. He describes it as being thin and long with tiny wings on each side," Joanne said and Serena started powering up as Joanne read off the startup card.

"It's an attack helicopter, likely a Cobra attack chopper armed with Hellfires," Serena said grimly. "It looks like they're going to kill them by blowing their house into splinters. Tell everyone to stay clear of the house," Serena instructed her. Joanne had no sooner done that when she heard someone again. "Hayley says three men plus the driver have exited the truck and are spreading out. All heavily armed," she informed her. "Have our friends take the men but only after we take out the helicopter. They're no match for it," Serena replied.

Serena had power at maximum and was trying to get there right now. However not far in the distance they saw the telltale signs of a series of explosions, which told both of them that the house and its occupants were history. "Get ready," Serena warned her as she gained altitude to make it easier for Joanne.

"One mile minus, target is gaining altitude and is leaving," Joanne advised Serena who was still flying at maximum speed and closing fast. She had brought up the target on her screen for her twin .50 cals just as Joanne fired the first of two heat seekers after getting tone. The Cobra had started turning quickly having picked up Serena's Osprey on their radar just as Joanne's first heat seeker slammed into their starboard engine blowing it to pieces. The Cobra instantly spun out of control as the second heat seeker blew its tail clear off.

Serena pushed her button after having set them to fire 2,000 rounds per minute and put 15 seconds of .50 cal rounds into what was left before turning hard and tilting the nacelles quickly so she could turn around to fire again if necessary. It wasn't necessary because what was left of the Cobra fell a couple of hundred feet into the trees. Serena hovered and went round and round the crash site while Joanne used her camera with a telephoto lens to survey the site. Joanne shook her head. "I've got no movement," she told her. "Hellfire," Serena countered wanting to make sure. They would hope that Lance and his family of bobcats could get some prisoners they could interrogate for information.

It also told them that Paladin had members in the closest military base which was over near Rapid City. Or at least they did have perhaps.

Serena circled back towards the house in case Lance and the others needed help. "Lance says they have 3 prisoners and one dead. He has two family members that are injured but will recover," Joanne relayed. "Thank him and tell him we will meet him at the pick-up site and take them off his hands. Remember to send him our thank you gift when we get home, please," Serena asked her. Getting back home meant stopping at Rapid City airport again to refuel then taking off for home. She didn't want to stay long and risk being caught on the ground.

Serena landed as several naked men and women escorted 3 bound and equally naked men to their ramp. "How's your family?" Serena asked as Joanne held her weapon on the three men. "Just some minor wounds. We hit them silently and quickly. Do you need their gear?" Lance asked. "No thanks. You can have it and do with it as you please. My thank you will show up before the end of next week," Serena told him, happy that none of his family were seriously hurt. "We should be thanking you. Without you we would all be suffering by now." He was sure of it too. "I created it to help my friends. I'm just glad so many families and clans have agreed to join us," Serena said, not taking that much credit.

"Is it true about Paladin?" Lance was hopeful. "It looks that way. Paladin is cleaning house as you witnessed with them getting rid of Dahl and his family. These three might be our only lead onto what's left of Paladin." Serena tells him.

"Actually according to Hayley, Dahl and his family were inside along with 3 other men. All in uniform and armed. Those three were wearing the same clothes as Dahl was." Lance tells her. "Dahl and 3 of his deputies?" Serena speculates. It did mean that Paladin had no one else in the area that she knew of now.

"I hate to ask but see if you or the others can figure out where they got this truck while I try and figure out how they got here and from where," Serena asked him. "We'll find him. I'm sure a family of Vultures should be able to find him or what's left of him. Hopefully he wasn't married. Paladin doesn't care who they kill in their quest to kill us all." Lance hated them just as much as the next shifter did.

Serena and Joanne were just leaving Rapid City bound for home when Lance got back to them. They had found the driver's dead body. It looked to have been a mercifully quick death for him. Serena and Joanne had a name so Sarah could look him up and find out if he had a family, be it a wife and kids or his parents. Lance had given the local authorities an anonymous call about a dead body so they could collect him and take him home.

"What if these three don't know anything except what they were told to do?" Joanne asked worriedly. "In that case we might be screwed unless we can figure out where they came from and get any information from that. They were contacted somehow." Serena wasn't down just yet, but the prospect of finding the rest of Paladin was looking bleak.


	44. Chapter 44

**CH44**

 **June 28, 2001**

Kate found her mother in the kitchen making her breakfast before heading out to work. "Oscar is coming today, are you excited?" she asked her with lots of innuendo built in. "What?" Johanna turned to look at Kate.

"It's a simple question Mom, are you excited? You've spent the last week at the high school teaching the kids what to cook from your menu." Kate offered her an out. Johanna instantly brightened up. "That's been fun even if all I did get from that class were two cooks, one hostess, and two waitresses. One cook came from here in Newcastle along with three more hostesses and one hostess along with 2 dishwashers.

Everyone else moved here from Rapid City. It seems I picked a bad year to open a restaurant. The economy is crashing." Johanna was worried about that, a lot, a whole lot. She was even losing sleep because of it, but wasn't telling Kate that.

"Look at the bright side Mom, people are looking for jobs and are willing to move to get them. You might get to keep most of them longer than you think," she said getting her mother to nod in agreement.

"When is Oscar landing?" Kate knew he was coming out today finally. "A little after lunch. He said he was bringing a surprise and wouldn't tell me what it was, only that I would love it." Johanna was still upset about that.

"Well I'm going to go to work. Alexis's last day is tomorrow and after that we're all going on a camping trip," she reminded her. "I'm not sure I should be going, my restaurant opens soon. What if something goes wrong? What if someone quits before I even open? What if…" Kate interrupted her. "MOM Stop! Everything will be fine and we're only going to be gone three days and two nights. You already promised you would go. Your going is one of the reasons Alexis's friends' parents are willing to let their little girls go with Rick. You really want to explain to Alexis that we're not going because you bailed on her?" She was playing dirty and she knew it, but her mother needed to get out of the house.

"We have more than enough space even with Oscar coming with us. You did tell him he was going camping after he got here?" Kate asked her, however Johanna remained silent. "MOM!?" She was upset with her mother. "I'm sorry Katie, I really am." Johanna meant it, though she hadn't told him because she was scared. The only way she saw this working with Kate sleeping above the garage of their toy hauler was for Oscar to sleep with her in her bed, and she just wasn't ready for that yet.

"I have to go Mom. Do _not_ forget to go shopping and fill our refrigerator. We're going to have a lot of mouths to feed for 3 days." Kate pointed at her and headed for work in her Jeep since the new cars hadn't technically been ordered yet. The fleet representative was coming out next week to help her work out what they needed and what they could afford. Plus Kate now knew what kind of money she had to work with for the rest of the year.

Rick was dropping off Alexis for her next to last day of school. The following day would be their much anticipated trip with Alexis's friends. "Remember pumpkin, your friends can _not_ know you are also a bear. This is very important. I know you would like to tell them, but you just can't," he reminded her again.

"I know Dad, Kate told me," Alexis informed him. He was shocked. Kate had told her? When did that happen? "You have a good day at school pumpkin. Remind your friends we are going camping in two days," Rick reminded her of that too. Alexis smiled from ear to ear as she climbed out of the truck and ran inside, anxious to find her friends and talk about their trip.

Rick drove to the grocery store so he could buy enough food and find a way to stuff all of it into his trailer.

Johanna, with butterflies in her stomach, got into her Jeep and drove to Rapid City's airport and found Oscar already waiting at the curb with his suitcase, carry-on bag that had been holding Thor who was presently in his arms, along with his extra large portfolio case. She got out to open the back for him and soon found Thor in her lap trying to lick her face when they both got inside her car. "Thor, let her drive. You can go nuts when you meet Patch again." Oscar pulled Thor off of Johanna so she could drive.

"How was your flight?" Johanna started off with an easy one. "Thor actually didn't put up much of a fuss this time. I think my fellow passengers were a lot happier with me being onboard then the last time," he chuckled which had Johanna smiling.

"So what's my surprise?" She wanted an answer right now. "That's really bugging you isn't it?" Oscar was catching on fast. Johanna however spared him a look while driving long enough to throw daggers at him. "Fine." He let go of Thor so he could reach behind him and dig into his portfolio case. Oscar finally, after moaning about how hard this was to do, pulled out a standard size sheet of paper and took Thor back off of Johanna's lap.

"This is a deal between you and one of the major tour bus companies. One of their routes takes tourists to Mount Rushmore. If you sign this you agree to offer each passenger 10% off of their bills. One of their routes takes them east down US16 towards Mount Rushmore. Before they used to just drive right through, now they will stop at your restaurant coming and going for dinner. If you sign," he informed her and held it up for her to take a quick peak.

She even recognized the name of the tour company. How had he managed to do this? "You're serious aren't you?" Johanna took a quick look at him just to see his face. "Very serious. It's already signed by their president. You sign it, we scan it and send it, and they'll start on the very first bus that comes this way. They average between 50 and 58 seats for each trip. That's a minimum of 50 seats of your 182 seat capacity, likely all adults and senior citizens at that." Oscar was proud of himself. "Of course they're not committed to eating here, only that the bus will stop here."

Johanna was smiling widely, a set number of people who would stop at her restaurant. "How often do they have buses?" She was wondering if she did well enough would she already be booked when the bus showed up and she couldn't serve any of them?

"They have tour buses that go there daily, though this deal is only for 3 of the 6 days that you'll be open. If you want to increase that we would need to negotiate a new contract for more buses," he told her. What Johanna wanted to do was kiss him, but she was too chicken to tell him that.

"Oh, I've got one more surprise for you. This one came in late last night, too late for me to tell you anything about it." He let go of Thor again who made his way into Johanna's lap once more while Oscar searched his portfolio. He turned back around with a much larger sheet of paper this time.

"This is the football jersey that you will be offering for sale at your restaurant. The University of Wyoming will ship them out to you and you will provide them with 80% of all profits of their sale. Here on the sleeve at the shoulder will be the logo of your restaurant. They refused the idea of having your name on them. However I have copyrighted your design so that only you can use it."

"These football jerseys are now a collector's item. They won't bring you much money from selling them, but they are going to be a one of a kind. Right now it only comes in one color," he told her, which had Johanna pulling over to the side of the road.

"Did I do something wrong?" Oscar was sure she was going to like both of these surprises. Just how many restaurants had a tour bus stopping at their place at least 3 times a week? Especially in this new economy. The buses might not be full anymore but people were still going to travel on vacation and need to eat.

Plus just how many universities were willing to allow a restaurant's logo placed on their jersey? Though it didn't hurt when Oscar told them she was going to fire off fireworks for each win the university's football and basketball games had.

Oscar had been surprised when he found out that the university had dropped baseball back in 1996. It had forced Johanna to change to basketball. She was sure Jim was turning over in his grave. Of course she would move to a state that didn't have college baseball.

He had even offered up a possibility of them offering the students a tour up to Mount Rushmore going through Newcastle so they could buy a one of a kind souvenir during spring break. He hadn't heard back about that one yet.

Johanna stopped the car and screwed up all the courage she could muster and pulled Oscar across to her so she could kiss him soundly. She pressed her tongue into his mouth so she could increase the passion of the kiss. She finally broke from the kiss and watched him for his reaction. He was soon smiling widely since it wasn't something he was expecting, but it was something he had wanted to do as often as possible while he was here.

"I should provide you with surprises more often." Oscar wasn't sure how she would take them, but this was a good sign. "I hate surprises so if you do that again I'll kill you." Johanna told him and then pulled him close to her again so she could kiss him once more.

Oscar was smiling, holding onto Thor while Johanna started driving again. He decided that he would keep his secret about a spring break tour bus that would stop at her restaurant coming and going once a year.

He dropped his bag in the downstairs spare bedroom while Thor and Patch ran throughout the house including up and down the stairs. He found Johanna in the kitchen. "Have you eaten?" she asked him and began searching her refrigerator after he shook his head.

However he pushed the door closed. "Talk to me, please. I know Jim hasn't been gone that long. I think you know I'm interested, and for me it's the first time in a long time. I'll back off if you want me to, but I need to know." He was willing to push at least a little. "I like you Oscar, I really do. I just don't know what to do." Johanna gave him yet another semi-mixed message when she took hold of his shirt with both hands and pulled herself into his chest and held her head there.

What she needed was for him to push her a little but not too much to scare her off. What Johanna found was Oscar pushing her away from him a little and having her head tilted up and feel his lips against hers, softly and tenderly.

"I'm here for a week, we can work it out. Maybe the answer will come to you in that time. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to get you to lean my way." He gave her a quick kiss. "Now how's Kate? Are those two still denying there's something between them?" He changed the subject. "I don't think so, not anymore. Katie has been spending most of her days and even nights over at his house. There's definitely something going on. I haven't confronted her about it, but I think she loves him," Johanna confirmed.

"And if Rick asked her about us?" Oscar questioned turning the tables on her. Johanna smiled at what he was getting at. Katie had been teasing her for days if not weeks about what she felt about Oscar.

"What would you like to do 'til Katie gets home and Rick with Alexis and the dogs come over for dinner?" Johanna deflected his question. "Take me to your restaurant? I need to talk to your general contractor." Oscar said and they found themselves in her Jeep leaving the dogs behind to play with each other.

The building looked done as Johanna parked the car not far away. They were soon walking the exterior with the general contractor who told them that the landscape was going to be the very last thing to be completed. Inside they found that none of the tables and chairs had shown up yet. The few booths that they had were in place. The fireplaces were in, the walls were painted, and most of the work was in the kitchen since all of the kitchen equipment was being installed.

The water was connected and working as well as the tankless water heaters. The fire protection contractor was long since done and gone. Everyone inside was comfortable since the rooftop A/C units were currently running while the mechanical contractor was presently balancing the system.

"What's left?" Oscar asked the general contractor. "The tables and chairs are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow as well as all of the decorations." Like the pictures of Yellowstone Oscar had arranged. "The following day will be the food delivery except for the perishables. I'm told those will show up on the 4th," he explained.

Oscar turned to look at Johanna at that information. "I've been out here every day for weeks lately. He told me it would be ready on the 4th so I called for deliveries on the 3rd and the 4th," she told him. "And your employees?" he asked. "All hired and the shirts in their sizes have been picked up. The schedule for opening day has been conveyed to each of them."

"I've been cooking with the kids from the high school in their classroom for the last week," Johanna said to him. "Your jerseys are scheduled to show up on the 4th also with the sale price set by the university," Oscar informed her. "The 4th is going to be a very busy and exciting day."

"And I and my crew are going to be here to taste your cooking before we all go home. We built this place; we want to experience it," the general contractor told her. "And I'll be happy to serve you," Johanna responded smiling.

They were happy with what they saw and learned and headed back home. "Your billboards are up on both highways as of yesterday I was told. Your restaurant on the highway information signs for your exit has been put in for approval. I don't know when that will be approved and added. That sign is out of my hands."

"I know your grand opening banner will be up on the 4th also. Have you got your fireworks for the first night?" he inquired. "I'll show you when we get home," was Johanna's response.

She had used Rick's truck to purchase fireworks worth hundreds of dollars for the first week or longer depending on if Wyoming won a game during that week.

Basketball didn't start until November 13, 2001 against USC.

Football didn't start until September 1, 2001 against Furman.

This all meant that the fireworks that she did shoot off would be only for the opening night for a few months, after that it was up to the university how often she shot off fireworks.

Since her opening night was the 4th of July, Johanna planned on shooting off 16 boxes that each had between 9 and 20 shots. "Oh my god!" Oscar's mouth fell open when she showed him just how many boxes she had in storage at home. "$960 worth of fireworks," she told him, still put out that Rick had purchased all of them instead of her. "I plan of shooting them off for you on the 4th so I'm buying. If not for you I would have spent the same amount and shot them off at home," Rick had told her, defending himself.

"I know local advertising for the event has been done since I asked you earlier. What about clothing for the cooks? White aprons at the very least." Johanna started nodding. "Yep, got that too. Three for each of us."

"How are your nerves holding up?" Oscar knew what was coming was a big day for her. She and Rick had sunk a fair chunk of change into this place. "Honestly? I barely sleep and I pick at my food. I haven't been this nervous since I applied for the bar. My life is about to work out or blow up in my face," Johanna admitted for the first time.

"You'll do fine, plus I'm going to be back there to help you and your staff. Just know that things will go wrong. It's inevitable and can't be helped. We'll iron out the bugs and you'll be operating smoothly in no time." Oscar had told himself he wasn't leaving until it was. Even if it meant staying longer than a week. She had a washer and dryer after all. It didn't hurt that he liked it out here a lot and not just because of Johanna. There was something about the wide open spaces that caused him to smile wide. It was a feeling or more an inner voice that he hadn't listened to for a really long time.

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Kate started going through her "to read" pile when she came across something about staffing requirements.

 **Search and Rescue:** One Deputy splitting his time between SAR coordination and Patrol services.

 **Civil:** One Process Server and one Clerk, with part-time assistance from Administration, Dispatch, and Evidence. Records: Collateral duties assigned to Dispatchers.

 **Dispatch:** Two full-time and one part-time employees maintaining officer safety for Patrol Operations, Civil Process Server, Search and Rescue personnel, and the Sheriff; as well as complying with all public records requests received during the year and mandatory crime reporting to State and Federal authorities.

 **Patrol Operations:** Four full-time employees, three of which operate under contract (BLM, City of Newcastle, and State Marine Board) primarily responding only to life-threatening calls-for-service received during a single shift covering 40 hours per week.

 **Evidence:** One employee maintaining hundreds if not thousands of pieces of property in a manner suitable to the District Attorney's Office and Circuit Court, which also assists with processing civil paperwork.

 **Court Security:** One employees maintaining secure, safe facilities for both Circuit and Family Courts

" **SHIT!"** Kate literally yelled out loud which got the attention of the people in the office. She re-read it again and started some simple math. She needed at least six full-time deputies, four of which were assigned to patrols. Four civilians plus another two or three full-time employees to man the 911 phone.

Kate had three deputies and four civilians, one of which was full time 911 while one of the other two handled the night 911 calls.

"I am seriously understaffed." Kate hung her head and went back to reading till she found a more recent one. It was an announcement that her budget would likely be lowered next year due to the present economy. It suggested a 10% to 20% reduction next year was to be expected.

To her that meant doing with one or two less people next year. "Might as well get used to it this year and be ready for it next year," she murmured to herself. Still that meant she needed to hire three full time deputies, and one full time or at least part-time civilian.

It did however give Kate an idea. If she was going to have her budget reduced it meant other cities like New York City were going to get hit hard. She got on the phone as she thought of at least two people that might be interested.

"Hi LT, Kate Beckett out in Weston County, Wyoming. Has Montgomery talked to everyone about the economy and the upcoming budget?" she questioned him immediately and listened for a few minutes as LT talked to her about a lot of things.

"I was calling to see if you might be interested in being a sheriff's deputy here in Wyoming. It would pay $19.43 an hour or $41,428 annually since you would be a Deputy Patrol. Oh, and we get brand new 2001 Dodge cars in three months. Four will be Intrepid R/Ts while two will be Durango 4x4s. You would likely end up with an Intrepid since you wouldn't have any seniority," she informed him, and listened for a few minutes.

"I'll fly you out on my dime and let you stay in my spare bedroom while you look around the place. You just need your own car out of Rapid City. It's about 1-1/2 hour drive from Rapid City to Newcastle," she told him and listened for a minute. "Of course. Think it over and get back to me at this number. Keep in mind things like homes cost a whole lot less here than they do in New York City," she advised him. She listened for another minute. "Thanks LT, think it over that's all I ask." Kate hung up and looked up another number.

"This is Sheriff Beckett in Weston County, Wyoming. I need to talk to a Greta Bailey if she is in? …Yes I'll hold."

Kate gave the same pitch to her as she did LT. "Yes, I'm aware you have a daughter. Please keep in mind that housing, school, and daycare cost less here than they do in New York City. You would be a Deputy Sheriff Recruit hence the $35,134 annually. Did I mention you would either get a brand new 2001 Dodge Intrepid or the last PT-Cruiser as part of your job?" Kate was smiling. Brand new cars were turning out to be a hiring incentive.

"Let me do some checking around locally and I'll send it to you. Just give me your e-mail address and I'll do some looking today and tomorrow and get it out to you." Kate offered to send her places to stay and daycare information along with costs.

"Yes, I can help with relocation costs provided we use who I select to move you," she told her and listened for a few minutes. "Excellent, I'll send you the information and let me know what you think." She ended the call.

Kate was done with the "must read" pile and found a new appreciation for the job Roy did. "I'm going out for lunch to look for apartments or rooms for rent. I may have a lead on a couple of new deputies for us," she told them. "Call if you need me," she said over her shoulder.

A quick phone call to the mayor gave her a short list that he knew about off the top of his head. She looked at a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. She would need to purchase a refrigerator and a washer/dryer. It was offered at $795 a month and was pet friendly with restrictions. That would leave her around $1 grand after rent.

Two bedroom, one bathroom apartment with or without a garage. $675 a month with garage or $650 without. 875 square feet. It came with all appliances except washer and dryer. The small building had a common laundry room; it was not pet friendly.

Two bedroom, one bathroom manufactured home. $800 a month that included all appliances with washer/dryer. Fenced yard with a garden for vegetables and was pet friendly with restrictions.

Kate was back at her desk with a sub sandwich, chips, and a soda and was sending what she had already found to Greta, along with the website for the local schools.

"Need one more deputy and my civilian still?" she said to herself and prayed the mayor had ideas.


	45. Chapter 45

**CH45**

Alexis had spent the night at Johanna's; Kate found herself taking care of Alexis on her own. It was up to her to get Alexis out of bed early, into the tub to give her a bath, make sure she brushed her teeth all while laying out clothes for her to wear. Plus Kate still had to do all that for herself though in her case it was a quick shower.

That was followed by helping her mother and Oscar take all their food out to the motorhome that Kate had pulled out of its barn and parked closer to the house. Next came packing clothes for at least three days. Rick had been adamant that everyone bring a swimsuit. "Babe, you've already seen me naked," Kate purred while running a hand across his chest. "Yes, but not in a sexy bikini," he countered and gave her a quick kiss.

Kate started up the motorhome, checked all of her gauges, and started driving up their road towards US85. Once they reached it they could see Rick sitting on the other side waving at them. It looked like Paige got first dibs at shotgun. Rick had the four girls while Kate and Johanna had Oscar and Alexis. Kate and Johanna waved back because Oscar and Alexis were sitting somewhere behind them. Kate watched as Rick headed south towards town and US16 for their trip to Mount Rushmore. Kate pulled in behind him and followed him all the way. He stopped at a gas station in town before going to their campsite with Kate doing the same. Since Johanna stayed inside to talk with Oscar and Alexis, Kate didn't get any grief about how much it cost to fill this beast even if it was a diesel that got better mileage.

When they arrived at the campground Rick stopped at the office, paid for their stay, and got directions to their side by side campsite.

 _ **Spokane Creek Cabins and Campground.**_

 _Spokane Creek sits in a valley on 24 picturesque acres just 7 miles south of Keystone. We are located on the spectacular, historic Iron Mountain Road_ _between_ _Custer State Park_ _and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, making us an ideal location to enjoy the wonders of the Black Hills._

 _Spokane Creek features 22 RV sites with 30 amp service, 8 of which are full hookups (water, electric & sewer) and 14 are water and electric only - a dump station is located by the showerhouse and is free for our guests._

Rick could only get water and electric at the time of booking almost 3 months ago when Alexis had brought the camping trip up. It did mean he had to back up his trailer into place AFTER Kate had parked so she could guide him into place. It only took him 8 tries this time.

After leveling their homes, extending the pull outs and the canopies, the girls heard, "What's first ladies?" as Rick slapped his hands together, rubbed them, then pulled out the brochure that he had downloaded and printed out.

"We drove through Keystone to get here so it's relatively close." Rick told them.

Local activities include: Alpine Slide, Scenic Chairlift, Aerial Adventure Park, Zipline, Free Fall Tower, and Mountain Top Grille.

"How about the slide girls? We can go up and down a few times and then take the chairlift up to the Mountain Top Grille to eat lunch. Then we can either all do the Zipline or split up a little and do that and Free Fall Tower. Or both?" Rick asked them.

Rick soon had Oscar in his passenger seat with Jenny between them and four little girls in the back seat. Kate and Johanna were behind him on their scooters.

 _ **Alpine Slide**_

 _Riders descend one of our two parallel mountain tracks in a wheeled cart, specially designed to navigate all the dips and high-banked turns. Of course, if you'd rather enjoy a more leisurely descent, that is entirely up to you. Let gravity do its thing, or slow the journey down and enjoy the view!_

Like a lot of rides it had an age and height minimum requirement. Only Paige was old enough and big enough to go down on her own. That left four little girls and four adults to go with them.

Kate, Johanna, and Oscar soon had six kids rushing back up the hill to do it all over again, though one of them was a little big. This was followed by six kids yelling and having fun going back down again, only to do it all over again. Kate and Johanna had to admit that Rick knew how to keep five little girls happy.

The Scenic Chairlift turned out to be what they used to get back up to the top to go back down the Alpine Slide or they could keep going up to the very top to reach the Alpine Adventure Park. The Mountain Top Grille was somewhere else.

 _ **Alpine Adventure Park**_

 _We had 5 different courses. Since everyone has loved the park so much we just recently added three new courses!_

 _We now have:_

 _Yellow Courses (meant for beginner climbing)_

 _Green Courses (meant for intermediate climbing)_

 _Blue Courses (meant for advanced climbing)_

 _Black Course (meant for expert climbing_

 _\+ Platforms and More Than 80 Different Elements_

 _One of the_ _ **Aerial Adventure Park**_ _'s defining features is that it combines more than 80 platforms with more than 80 different elements, including:_

 _Integrated Ziplines_

 _Suspended bridges_

 _Suspended ladders_

 _Trapezes_

 _Tubes_

 _Cables_

 _Rings_

 _Nets_

 _And more!_

 _Each Climber gets a pass for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The first 15 minutes is meant for harnessing and briefing on the safety equipment. Once you have learned the information, you are set free to try as many of the 8 courses we have in 90 minutes._

Rick was all set to let everyone go anywhere they wanted including the Black Course meant for expert climbers. "Rick do you really think 6-year-old girls are expert climbers?" Johanna asked, exasperated at his lack of good sense. "You want to explain to their parents why you let their little girls do something you were supposed to prevent and keep them out of the hospital beds they're all in?" Kate added glaring at him. "Not to mention the hospital bills you'll be on the hook for," Johanna added.

"Fine. Party poopers," he grumbled. Rick relented, not that it stopped them taking the girls, each secured to an adult, to ride a zipline though Jenny chickened out of doing that. However a set of parents who only had one little boy with them offered to take her and she was screaming all the way across. "Can we do that again?" she asked excitedly.

A different trip took them to the _**Mountain Top Grille**_ for lunch.

 _Our impressive menu features a variety of delicious entrees, drinks and desserts that includes:_

 _Mouth-watering grilled hamburgers (beef or buffalo)_

 _Brats_

 _Salads_

 _Plenty of kid-friendly options_

 _Beer and soda_

 _A full assortment of ice cream flavors_

"Buffalo burgers?" the girls asked. "Buffalo meat is slightly sweeter than regular beef and extremely tender. If you like sweet food you'll love it and the meat will melt in your mouth," their server explained. Everyone had buffalo burgers, fries, and soda about 30 minutes later.

"Anyone save room for ice cream? We have a very large assortment," their server offered. The girls soon had cones with a single scoop of differing flavors. Johanna had a waffle cone with two scoops as did Rick and Oscar.

With their tummies full and happy beyond description they were back at their homes letting the dogs out so they could be good dogs. Then Rick surprised all of them by pulling out two doggie tie out stakes out of the back of his truck and screwing them into the ground. This was followed by hooking two 20 foot cables to each tie out. He hooked Midas and Maggie to their cables and Thor and Patch to theirs. "The pet rules said the dogs had to be on a leash at all times." Rick waved his hand at the four 20 foot leashes which earned him a kiss to his cheek from Kate.

"Can we go play?" Paige asked and pointed at the playset in the middle of the campground. It had two towers and four swings and wasn't being used. It wasn't nearly as big or tall as Alexis's but it was nice. "I'll watch them," Oscar offered and followed the five running girls.

"No fire pit?" Johanna asked not seeing one. Rick shook his head. "There are two large central ones for everyone to use. But I did bring wood, marshmallows, and coat hangers for everyone. I also have a number of folding chairs but I'm hoping that you have a few, too," he explained. He had six and Kate and Johanna had two which meant they were short one chair.

"There's a store and gift shop at the entrance, maybe they sell chairs," Kate said and grabbed her helmet. "You can take the truck." Rick dangled the keys. "I'll be fine," she told him as she mounted her scooter and took off.

"I'm going to start dinner since I have so many mouths to feed," Johanna announced and went into her motorhome. That left Rick all alone. Four adults and 5 kids and he's left alone. He pulled out the two folding tables and the chairs that he had brought. He was just finishing setting them up when he saw Kate riding back with something. She dropped it on the ground and took off her helmet. "All they had were folding sports chairs. You wouldn't believe what they want for them." Kate had spent the money, but just didn't like it.

"I'll pay you back," he offered. "I can buy my own chair Rick, I'm not broke." Kate didn't know why she was suddenly so defensive. "I didn't say you were. This trip was my idea because Alexis brought it up and wanted to spend time with her friends. So I just assumed I should pay for the chair we are missing." If he had counted and planned ahead they wouldn't be short one chair.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I snapped at you." Kate deflated since she really didn't know where that came from. He stepped up and hugged her which had her melting into him as always and took away her suddenly foul mood. "You're forgiven," Rick told her and kept holding her, feeling Kate melt into him like always.

Kate knew it was his hugging power that made her feel like that, it's just that she felt so much better when he hugged her. He took away all her sour feelings and made her think everything would work out. "Where's Mom?" she asked him talking into his chest. "Starting dinner. Something about having a lot of mouths to feed," he replied and felt her leave his arms. "I should probably go help her before she yells at me to do just that." Kate reached up to give him a quick kiss and entered their motorhome.

"Need any help Mom?" She stepped inside and closed the screen door behind her. "Not really, this is pretty simple. I just need to make a lot of it. What are the kids doing?" Johanna changed the subject which got Kate to look outside to check on the girls. "Still playing on the playset which is almost as big as Alexis's. Looks like they have 3 other kids with them now," she told her. "Well I'm not feeding them too, they can just go home and eat." Johanna was praying Rick had brought food since she had underestimated how much they would need.

"What are you making?" Kate inquired looking over her mom's shoulder. "It's Spanish Paella with an Asian twist. I'm using egg fried rice. A little chorizo, a little bacon, a little ham, and some prawns. If anyone is picky they should be able to pick out what they don't like but still have enough to eat." At least she was hoping that's how it would work.

"If you would start the salad please, this is going to be done in a few minutes," Johanna asked her. "I'll get Rick to bring the kids home so they can wash up," Kate offered and called to him through the door.

Shortly they had three kids lined up at their bathroom to wash up secure in the knowledge that the others were in Rick's trailer. Johanna and Kate soon found 5 hungry kids sitting at one of Rick's folding tables as they both placed a plate full down in front of each of them. "Milk for everyone?" Kate asked getting nodding heads since they had already started eating.

"Is this seafood?" one of them asked suddenly. "They're prawns and yes, they're seafood," Johanna responded. "I can't have seafood. It makes my skin do bad things," she told Johanna. "You're allergic!? I'm _so_ sorry I didn't think to ask. I'll fix it, just give me a few minutes." Johanna took her plate away and went back inside.

She dumped it, Chinet® paper plate and all, into the trash and started from scratch using sliced chicken breast this time. She went back out minutes later, the allergic child having to eat with the adults. "Here sweetie. It has chicken instead. I'm really sorry. Does anyone else have an allergy to something?" Johanna asked them. "Not too spicy?" one of them asked. "Not too spicy, got it. I'll do better next time now that I know," Johanna promised.

Rick and Oscar set the chairs around the fire pit a little ways away from where they were camped. Rick was walking back as everyone else passed him going the other way. "I have the marshmallows and Mom has the coat hangers, babe," Kate told him as they went past, getting him to turn around and join them. They ended up with the girls on one side and the adults on the other. Rick arranged the wood, stuffed some paper at the bottom, and struck a match; in about 30 minutes they had a roaring fire.

Kate started throwing marshmallows at the girls getting a couple of them to giggle while trying to catch them. Soon everyone was roasting their first marshmallows.

"Mind if we join you?" A family with an older daughter, probably 11 or 12 maybe, asked them. "Of course." The adults started shuffling around closer to the girls to make room. "I don't have any more coat hangers, just lots of marshmallows. Maybe you can find some useful sticks in the woods?" Rick suggested which had the father up and walking to the trees. Moments later he was back with three branches that would work. Kate threw them marshmallows. The father had just dropped his third one. "Smooth Dad," his daughter teased. "That's why I'm a Major League Baseball player," he teased back.

"You're a baseball player?" Jenny was impressed. "Dad's teasing. He doesn't know the difference between football, baseball, or basketball," she joshed her father. "Oh ha, ha, you're a real riot Strph," he countered.

"Oh, where are my manners! This is my husband Jamison, our daughter Stephanie, and I'm Penny," she introduced her family. "I'm Rick, my friend Oscar, Johanna, her daughter Kate, my daughter Alexis and her friends from school: Paige, Jenny, Sara and Samantha," he introduced their group.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. How long have you been here?" Penny asked. "We just got here today," Johanna replied. "We have two more days before going home," she added. "We've been here for three days so far and have three more days to go," Penny said. "Have you been to Mount Rushmore yet?" she asked them.

"Probably tomorrow," Rick answered since it hadn't been decided. "A word of caution, get there early if you want to avoid the crowds. We got there a little before lunch and it was a nightmare," Penny informed them. "One of the staff told us we should have gotten there early. Live and learn," Jamison remarked.

"Where are you from?" Johanna inquired. "We're from Billings, Montana. I'm a camera operator for channel 8, KURL Billings. We're an NBC affiliate," Jamison told them. "You?" he queried. "We're from Newcastle, Wyoming. I'm opening a new restaurant on the 4th of July," Johanna said.

"That sounds exciting, what's it called?" Penny asked. "AFTER DARK," Johanna replied. "MOM!?" Steph suddenly questioned. "Is that the one with fireworks?" Penny asked her. "Actually yes. We're going to have a big display on opening night. How did you know?" Johanna asked since she didn't know anyone outside of town knew much of anything about AFTER DARK. "We saw the sign just off I-90 at the US16 exit on our way out here. We thought about stopping but it sounded like it was only open at night so we stayed on I-90," Penny explained.

"At the moment the plan is to only be open for dinner. We'll shoot off fireworks every time the University of Wyoming football or basketball team has a win," Johanna said. "So you don't plan on shooting off many fireworks I take it," Jamison ribbed which got Johanna to stick her tongue out at him causing him to laugh.

They all settled down to roast marshmallows in silence until Kate and Johanna noticed the girls starting to yawn. "It looks like it's getting late babe," Kate called out and motioned with her head at the yawning girls. Rick and Kate escorted them to the trailer and motorhome.

Rick prepared the beds, having to convert the dinette and sofa into a bed and making sure they each brushed their teeth. After that he took Alexis over to the motorhome to shower since all of the girls were pretty grubby from their very active day. Kate stayed in the trailer with the other four girls, making sure they showered and changed into their jammies. She went over to the motorhome to tuck Alexis into her bed. Rick had wondered how Kate managed to sleep in the platform area not taking into consideration that she was much smaller than him.

"All tucked in?" he asked Sara and Samantha who were sleeping in back with Midas and Maggie who needed to go out to do their business. Rick moved to Paige and Jenny. "Kate and I will be right in there if you need anything. Don't be afraid to come get one of us if you need anything." He hooked up Midas and Maggie and found Kate outside waiting for him with Patch and Thor on leashes.

They walked the dogs around, picked up after them, and threw the bags in the trash. Then they walked over to the fire pit and lent a hand folding up chairs, not wanting to leave the girls all alone that far away. Each said their goodbyes since they would probably not see each other again. Rick and Kate set the chairs back up around the folding tables and staked out the dogs outdoors again while the adults sat down and talked about anything that came up. The adults retreated to their respective homes later and showered before bed making morning logistics easier.


	46. Chapter 46

**CH46**

Kate was just getting around to snuggling up close to Rick wearing one of his button down shirts she had stolen...no, borrowed permanently...along with a pair of panties since they had kids on the other side of the wall, when her cell phone signaled and vibrated. She groaned and rolled off Rick reaching for it then rolled back into place before answering it. "Beckett." She tried not to sound irritated by the call even if she was.

"I'm so sorry to bother you ma'am especially since you're off this weekend and it's after 10pm, but I thought you would like to know," one of her deputies said. "Know what Deputy Sloan?" Kate recognized the voice even though he hadn't told her who he was. "We got a call from a Greta Bailey. She was calling to tell you that she accepted your offer and wanted to know how soon you could arrange for relocation help," Sloan replied. Rick looked at Kate with 'who is Greta' on his face, not that Kate was paying attention to him.

"Excellent. Call her back and find out if she's given her present job two weeks' notice and just how much stuff she needs to move. A one bedroom, two bedroom, or studio apartment, that kind of thing and a date when she would be ready to move," Kate told him. "Actually she's ready now ma'am. Where she was working just laid off 22 officers as part of a cost cutting measure," Sloan told her. Kate squeezed her eyes closed. According to Espo Greta had been cool under fire even if she did have a little girl back home to take care of. "Okay, I'll try and make arrangements to have her moved as soon as possible. I'll call you back after I do so you can tell her when she has to be ready. Thanks for the call Sloan." And Kate hung up.

"Who's Greta?" Rick questioned. "The office is seriously understaffed and I made a couple of calls to see if they would be interested in working out here. LT is coming out in a few days to look the place over before making a decision while it seems Greta is interested now," Kate briefly explained. "She was laid off." Rick couldn't help but overhear her conversation after all since she was having it while lying on his chest.

"She was a metro cop that Espo seemed to like. I made a call and had her history forwarded so I could read it for myself. Sounds like the city is in cost cutting mode. I heard she has a little girl and isn't married," Kate told him. "So you offered her a better job," he said as he bent his head and kissed her head. "I went looking for some places for her to think about moving into during lunch yesterday. She can get a two bedroom and one bathroom apartment with a garage out here for what wouldn't even get her a closet in Manhattan," she said knowing New York City was horribly expensive.

"Now you need a mover?" Kate nodded. "It'll have to wait until we get back home before I can look someone up," she groused. She would really like to get it arranged and be done with it, but they didn't have a computer here. "Not necessarily," he remarked and had Kate lift up as he rolled over to reach for his phone before rolling back into place. "Call him back and get her address," he said and made a call.

"Hello, Melissa? It's Beckett. I need the address for Greta so I can tell the movers," Kate asked. "I'll ask him, I think he's on the phone with her now," Melissa replied. She came back a minute later with an address that Rick passed on to whomever he had on the phone."Two weeks. It will take one day to pack her one bedroom and four days to move her," Rick informed Kate who passed it on.

"She says she'll have an address for the movers tomorrow," Sloan told Kate who then told Rick. "She's booked for two weeks from today." Rick hung up after telling Kate who told Sloan. "Greta says thank you ma'am," Sloan relayed. "Thanks for the call Sloan, see you in two days." And Kate ended the call. "One down, a few more to go." Kate rolled away just as Rick had to put her phone back.

"You're going to give me that bill for the move Rick. It's coming out of the office's budget and don't make me hurt you by saying no!" She pinched him just to enforce her point. "OW! Spousal abuse and we're not even married yet," he complained. "Rick?" Had he just...? "When I propose Kate, and I will, you'll know it and remember it for the rest of your life." He bent his head down to kiss her. "Now go back to sleep. We have 5 little girls to get up and clean in the morning, not to mention 4 adults." He wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place with a mini bear hug.

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"I'll let you change first, just close the door," Johanna told Oscar after sending Alexis upstairs to her bed. It was perfect for her since she was small.

A few minutes later Oscar came out wearing a full set of very slick and tasteful pajamas. "Ta da! What do you think?" He struck a pose and grinned while Johanna looked him over. "I think I'm going to be underdressed. You're very handsome," she teased though what she was going to be wearing was nowhere as nice.

"Please don't tell me you'll be undressed on the other side of that door," he begged. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last. A kiss here and a wish there and a sign that she's interested was killing him. She smiled a smile that didn't help him any.

"Sorry." Johanna patted his chest and went into her bedroom then closed the door so she could change. She soon changed into her pajamas and looked in the mirror after wiping off her make-up with a cleansing pad. "I just don't know and it's not fair to him, Jim. He really is a sweet, caring man and if I say no, I know he'll go away and I'll never see him again. But I'm not moving back to New York and that's where he has his office, and I'm so lonely," Johanna said to the face in the mirror, who didn't answer back. _'Was 8 months long enough?'_ she wondered as she crawled into bed. There was a wonderful man just the other side of the door and she was learning to like the smell of his cologne.

Johanna tossed and turned for what had seemed like hours. She needed sleep, they had 5 little girls to clean up tomorrow with only 2 showers. She got out of bed and slowly cracked the door open so she could see him. As if that alone would tell her what to do. What she saw was him moving and rolling around, hanging his feet off the edge of the bed so he could stretch out. The sofa that converted into a bed by adjusting the cushions was just too short for him; they hadn't kept the dinette that would have been another bed in favor of a real table with four chairs.

She opened the door and walked over to Oscar who was looking up at her, surprised to see her. She reached down and took his hand and tugged. "Come on, this is too small for you. Go get in bed and don't give me any trouble, just do it." Johanna pulled him into her bedroom, waited for him to pick a side, then climbed into bed on the other side. She decided to snuggle up close and felt him wrap an arm around her. "Now go to sleep," Johanna instructed him. However he tilted her head so he could kiss her deeply. He pulled on her to get her on top of him as they kissed. Then Johanna found one of his hands palming her breast on the outside of her top. She moaned into his kiss.

Johanna moved a leg and felt that he was hard and ready; she was rapidly getting there herself. She felt him turn them so that he was now on top and had switched to kissing and sucking on her neck, eliciting another moan from her. Next she felt his hand sneak its way under her top until it was on her bare breast. Her hands were holding his head down so she could kiss him and smother her moans. "Oscar, we have to stop. Alexis is upstairs," she gasped. It was Johanna's last attempt to stop this before it went too far.

He buried his face in her neck as he collapsed on her with a groan, pinning her to the bed under his glorious weight while her arms wrapped around him. "Yeah, she is," he muttered as he started to move off Johanna, only to have her hands hold his face. "Give me just a little more time," she pleaded. He nodded and rolled off her then spread his arms wide while he tried to calm down. Johanna moved so that she was lying on top of him much like her daughter presently was with Rick. "Go to sleep." She rubbed her hand over his chest and closed her eyes. _'Not yet, but soon.'_

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Someone was watching her, she could feel it! Kate's eyes blinked open and she found another pair of eyes staring back at her. "What's wrong honey?" she whispered as she managed to extract a hand and stroke her hair. "Hungry," Samantha said softly. Kate was expecting a number of things like "homesick," "wet the bed," "can't sleep," or maybe even "my tummy hurts," since she was the one with the seafood allergy. But hungry? That one took Kate a moment to process.

She reached for her phone to check the time and opened her eyes wide. 7:30 in the morning!? "I'll be right there honey. Have you used the bathroom yet?" Kate asked her since they only had the one, and watched her nod. "Good girl, let's see if we can find you something for breakfast." She slid her leg out from between Rick's and slipped out of bed trying not to wake him.

In the main room Kate found four very wide awake little girls. "Has everyone used the bathroom?" she inquired quietly and got a lot of nodding heads. "Good, that means it's my turn," she told them and stepped inside to quickly pee and wash her hands.

"Now for breakfast. Big breakfast or cereal?" she asked them. "Big please?" Samantha asked and Kate got three heads nodding in agreement. She lit the propane burner, set a skillet on it and found sausage and eggs in the refrigerator. She pulled those items out then found the blueberry pancake mix. She soon had sausages cooking in the skillet as she stirred batter for pancakes while another skillet heated up for them. Kate poured in the batter for the first one and switched to making coffee next since she needed something to wake her up. Keeping up with four girls was a handful.

Kate found plates, cups, and silverware and had the girls sitting at the dinette after converting it back into one. Samantha was served first since she started this and had a pancake, two sausage links, scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice. Kate quickly noticed that from the look of things her motorhome was meant for dinner and Rick's trailer was meant for breakfast. Kate had to pour the maple syrup for her and went back to cooking. She was just serving Sara when a growling Rick stumbled out of the bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom. "He's grumpy like my dad in the morning," Jenny informed everyone. "He hasn't had his coffee yet. Give him a chance, he'll warm up," Kate said. "That's what my mom says too," Jenny told them.

Paige was served next just as Rick came out of the bathroom and went straight for the coffee. "And how are you girls this morning?" He leaned back up against the refrigerator and looked at them while sipping his coffee wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. "Fine," Jenny told him since she was the only one not yet eating. "What do we do today?"

"Well I was thinking we go see the mountain and look at some really big heads," he pulled his hands out wide after starting in front of his face getting a couple of giggles. "Maybe stay there a couple of hours, maybe buy a souvenir for each of you to take home and then we'll just have to see. Did you bring your swimsuits?" Rick asked them and saw four nodding heads. "Then perhaps we'll go swimming after I figure out where to go," he said.

Kate served Jenny. "What do you want babe?" she asked him. "I'll have what they're having with a stack of pancakes please," he replied.

"Are you four good swimmers?" Rick asked them and got four nodding heads. "Who's the fastest?" he asked and three hands pointed at Paige who was oldest. "So we have an Olympic Gold Medalist in the making do we?" Rick decided to have some fun with them. Paige shook her head. "Don't knock what you're good at. I'll bet you'll win lots of gold medals! Make your parents and your country proud of you." He wasn't letting her off the hook that easy. "Do you like swimming?"

"Yes, but it's too cold here to swim much," Paige told him. "There isn't an indoor heated pool!?" He probably shouldn't be shocked but in a way he was. True, Newcastle wasn't that big of a town, but the next president of the United States might come from here or the next super swimmer. "That would kind of slow down your training," he had to admit.

He made a note to himself to see what it took to have an indoor pool built that all of the kids could swim in. On second thought make that an indoor water park that had a narrow, Olympic-length pool off to the side. He could own it and charge money to use it. How hard could it be? Or maybe get in touch with the YMCA and see about having one of their buildings built here.

"Here's yours babe." Kate handed him his plate which had him pouring the maple syrup before sitting on the sofa that was also back to being a sofa. He looked around. "Who put away the beds?" he asked and watched four little girls raise their hands. "How did you know what to do?" he inquired. "We watched you," Sara replied softly.

Kate tossed the pillows onto their bed and sat down next to Rick with her plate. He practically inhaled his food and was done in less than a minute. "Hungry babe?" She was amazed. "I need to let Midas and Maggie out," he explained and she kicked herself having forgotten about the dogs.

Rick dressed quickly and was taking Midas and Maggie out as Kate sent Samantha in to shower since she was the first one finished eating. Sara would be next. As soon as they were done, she sent Samantha then Sara into the bedroom to change into clothes their mothers had sent with them. Kate sent Paige to shower next then Jenny. They changed into their clothes in Rick's bedroom while Kate cleaned up the kitchen. As soon as she was finished with the dishes she sent the girls out to sit under the canopy then hopped in the bathroom for a quick shower herself.

Rick was watching Midas lift his leg just as Oscar with Patch and Thor came out for the same reason. "How did you sleep?" Rick asked him as his two watered the grass and a pole. "Better than I have in a long time actually." Oscar had Johanna draped all over him all night long. He hadn't realized he missed having someone next to him that badly."And?" Rick knew how tall his friend was and wasn't sure he would fit in the bed Kate was willing to crawl into. "And I slept fine." He wasn't going to kiss and tell. "Riiight." Rick wasn't buying it. "I don't know what you're thinking but nothing happened, or have you forgotten your daughter was asleep right above us," he reminded Rick then silently cursed at himself. Oscar however had just let the cat out of the bag.

"Give her a chance old friend. Kate tells me Johanna saw Jim as her one and done, but it sounds like you're making progress." Rick was happy for him. "If it wasn't for Alexis something might have happened last night. But it's probably a good thing that nothing did. It might have ended up a one and done for her," Oscar said, still afraid of that. "She would have felt guilty about what she had just done and rejected you because of it," Rick figured out and watched Oscar nod. "How long are you staying?" Had Oscar changed his mind about when he was leaving? "As long as it takes Rick, as long as it takes."

"She must be something special, I haven't seen you act like this ever. Hell I'm not even sure how much you dated after Eileen," Rick mentioned based on what he knew. "She is and I haven't much," he admitted. "And are you and Kate still in denial?" Oscar turned the tables on him. "Not anymore. Kate is simply the most amazing woman I've ever met and after what my publisher and publicist did to me, that's saying something." Rick still didn't know how he had been so stupid. Maybe it was his battle with his father that had helped him to be willing to become the playboy, still rebelling against his father and his choice for Rick's wife and mate.

They were both headed back when Alexis came bursting out the door. She saw her dad and the dogs and began running. Midas and Maggie were really happy to see her so Rick handed over the leashes to his daughter. "And what did you have for breakfast?" he asked Alexis but it was Oscar who answered for her. "Johanna made one of the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. That woman really knows how to cook." He was very impressed.

"So that's why you like her!" Rick teased except that he just opened his big mouth momentarily forgetting there were little ears close by. "You like Kate's mom?" Alexis asked having heard her dad. It got worse because no one noticed that Kate had exited the trailer and heard Alexis. Oscar bent down to Alexis. "Let's not tell anyone. I don't want to scare her off. Johanna is very special and she means a lot to me. So let's keep it a secret for now, please," he asked her and watched Alexis zip her lips closed which earned her a kiss to her head from him. He was even starting to get ideas about moving out here and get out into those wide open spaces. There was a piece of him that was waking up and loving the idea of living out here.

"Are we ready to go? The girls are almost done brushing their teeth." Kate announced herself before getting too close. She knew she would be talking with her mother soon. Right after she worked it out in her own mind how she felt about Johanna and Oscar.

"I'll get Jo," Oscar said and handed over Patch and Thor before he entered the motorhome. "I need to shower and shave. I promise to be quick," Rick said as he hurried to the trailer.

About fifteen minutes later the truck was full and Kate and Johanna were right behind them on their scooters. Everyone was very excited to see Mount Rushmore. They had to pay to park and Rick didn't even get to park up close like Kate and Johanna did. "Okay girls, I want you to stay right next to one of us. Either by me, Oscar, Kate, or Johanna. I do not want your parents yelling at me because I lost their little girl. Do we have a deal? Promise me," he told them and heard five promises. "No swimming if you break your promise," he warned them.

It was a bit of a walk to catch up to Kate and Johanna. They found a walkway with concrete columns on either side that had state flags hanging from them. There were two flags per column. There was a bit of a crowd but it wasn't too bad. Still Rick and Oscar took turns putting the girls on their shoulders so they could see better. There was an activity the kids could do scheduled an hour from now so they went to the gift store. "Remember your promise," Rick reminded them before they went in.

Kate bought each girl a Mount Rushmore Arrowhead Patch that their moms could sew onto their winter coats maybe. Johanna bought each of them a Mount Rushmore Scenic pin and pinned them on their shirts. Oscar bought each of them a postcard packet of 5 cards and told them they could write their parents a note about how much fun they are having and he would mail it later today. Rick bought each of them a refrigerator magnet that showed the mountain with the presidents' faces wearing sunglasses with blue lenses. On their way out he spent a dollar on each girl to have a penny pressed with Mount Rushmore on it.

The adults carried the packages while the girls went to their activity where they each colored a pre-cut, printed, lightweight cardboard image of Mount Rushmore then they cut out and glued a stand to the back of it so it could be placed on a table. Each of them proudly displayed what they had created to Rick, Kate, Johanna, and Oscar.

"Paige is going to be a gold medalist in swimming someday but you four are going to be artists and become famous," Rick proclaimed, which only had them smiling wider. Then they ran across a guy in a bear suit. "He's not as big as you dad," Alexis announced which nearly gave Kate heart failure. Rick simply stood over her, raised his arms out in front of him, and growled getting the other girls to giggle. After pictures with the bear were taken, Kate was walking with Jenny as they started to go somewhere else. _"That was fast thinking Rick.'_ Kate was quite impressed. _'Alexis damn near gave me a heart attack…Hang onto the girls please, I'll be right back,'_ he told her and ran back inside the souvenir store.

He came back out a few minutes later with a bag that had 5 necklaces in it, individually wrapped up and tapped closed and marked by Rick as to who got what.

5 – Black Hills Gold Grape Leaf Necklace at $57.50 each for the girls.

2 – Black Hills Gold Dragonfly Necklace at $150.75 for Kate and Johanna. It was his thank you for helping him with the girls on this trip.

"Where did Rick go?" Johanna asked Kate since she didn't see him and watched her shrug her shoulders.


	47. Chapter 47

**CH47**

Their campground had a swimming pool enclosed by a black iron fence. They left the dogs hooked up outside which pissed Midas and Maggie off as they watched Alexis walk away leaving them at the end of their leashes whimpering.

It wasn't an Olympic-sized pool so regulation laps weren't possible but there was room to swim and it was deeper on one end though it didn't have a diving board. The girls wasted no time and jumped in and started swimming around. " **CAN** **N** **ON BALL!** "Rick yelled as he ran and jumped in swamping the girls who promptly splashed him back while laughing as he retaliated.

He finally gave up and just swam around. He was watching Oscar coat Johanna's back with sunscreen that was revealed by her one-piece swimsuit. That was until Kate stepped up and pulled her t-shirt over her head followed by slowly pulling down her shorts while wiggling her ass for Rick's benefit. She was smiling widely as she saw Rick with his mouth hanging open. She had him. _'And we're keeping him_ _,_ _'_ her dragon told her. _'Damn right we are,'_ Kate responded. She took a couple of quick steps. " **CAN** **N** **ON BALL!** "She landed not far away from Rick swamping him big time with her splash, and since his mouth was hanging open he was soon coughing up water. She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him "You still love me?" she murmured. "More than you'll ever know, Kate. More than you'll ever know." And gave her a quick kiss.

It took some time but Johanna and Oscar were finally in the pool and mostly keeping track of the girls. When it was time for lunch they all went back to their campsite and absolutely had to pet the dogs since they weren't given a choice by their canine friends.

The site had a few large communal grills so they brought everything out to one and grilled hamburgers and chicken for their lunchtime sandwiches to go along with chips and milk. Johanna had put a cold salad together using oranges while Rick set down a bowl filled with chopped fruit.

"Having fun girls?" Rick asked them since it was terribly important to him that they all have fun. "Yep!" was the response from most of them. "It's great!" Samantha announced. "Can we do it again?" she added knowing they were going home tomorrow."Come back here?" he asked. Samantha shook her head. "Well, it needs to be a place close enough so we can take Kate with us. I suppose I can think of something. The next holiday is Labor Day in September. Don't your parents have something planned? Maybe taking you on vacation with them somewhere?" he asked her. Samantha shook her head again. She knew her parents didn't have any plans to go anywhere. She didn't really understand why, but they didn't. She also knew her parents didn't have a lot of things other people in town did. It was why she was having so much fun on this trip. She didn't want it to end and wanted to do it again so very much. "I'll think of something and I'll give you another piece of paper for your parents to sign on Labor Day. How does that sound?" Rick asked her and watched her smile and nod enthusiastically. It was a dream come true for her.

The adults slathered the girls from head to toe with sunscreen then made the girls wait an hour before going back in the pool.

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All the girls were sitting outside talking while most of the adults were inside working on dinner, half in the motorhome and half in the trailer. "This has actually been a lot of fun," Kate commented smiling. She'd never thought having 5 kids to take care of could be like this. "The location, me, five girls, or just having time off?" Rick questioned. "Yes," she answered grinning. "But I have you to thank for it," she added and kissed him.

They were interrupted by her cell phone ringing and vibrating. "Beckett," Kate answered even though she had seen who it was. "I'm really sorry to bother you again ma'am, but we have a big one. We had a report that there were explosions so I sent Matt out to investigate. He reported back that he has found the sheriff's, the former sheriff's that is, home has been destroyed. Matt says it looks like it blew up," she was informed. "Any casualties?" she asked him. "Hard to tell ma'am. He says the house is mostly kindling," Sloan replied. "Who's on duty?" Kate knew but wanted a reminder. "Just me and Matt ma'am. Robert is scheduled for night duty with Melissa. Plus Matt will be at the courthouse Monday," Sloan added knowing that today was Saturday.

"Oh, and there's more ma'am," Sloan warned her, which made Kate groan. "On his way to the house he came across a crash site just off the road. It was recent and still smoking. He thinks it was a military helicopter due to the color he could see on what was left of it," Sloan told her.

Kate sighed heavily and let her head hang for a moment while she thought about what to do. She was just too understaffed to handle this and that wasn't going to change likely for weeks if not longer. She lifted her head back up. "Okay. I want you to call the state police and see if they have anyone they can send. Text me Dahl's home address and the number for the military base over near Rapid City. I'll see if I can find out if they're missing a chopper and a pilot and if they'll send someone. I'll be there as soon as I can," Kate told him and hung up. Her vacation just came to a wrenching end.

"Was that what it sounded like?" Rick queried. "I need to go back tonight. Something big has happened and I'm understaffed. I'm really sorry babe, but I need to go home." She knew she shouldn't have come in the first place, but she let herself think she wasn't needed. She should have known better.

"Do we at least have long enough to eat?" he asked since they were about 30 minutes from being done. "Yeah, I suppose another hour isn't going to matter," she relented and went outside so she could tell them. "I'm really sorry girls but I need to go home. Something has happened and since I'm the acting sheriff I need to be there to find out what's happened and find the bad guy who did it," she told them. "I really am so sorry. We need to leave right after dinner." She felt bad but she had a job to do.

"What do we do tomorrow?" Samantha asked. Coming out here with them was her one big trip likely for the entire year and maybe the next one as well. "You leave that to me, I have an idea." Rick went inside the trailer to retrieve his satellite phone.

Everyone else packed up while Rick made phone calls, making plans for his idea to work out.

Alexis was standing just behind Kate while she drove them home with Rick going the wrong way saying he wanted to get something in Rapid City before they closed. "Why did Dad go a different way?" Alexis wanted this vacation almost as much as Samantha did. "I don't know sweetie. You'll just have to wait and ask him. And Alexis, I'm really sorry about having to leave but I need to do my job." Kate was still bummed about that "Okay," Alexis barely whispered and retreated to sit down on the sofa alone.

Rick was driving in a silent truck with four girls in the back and Oscar up front with him. His glances into the rear view mirror told him he had his work cut out for him since what he saw were four sad little faces.

Johanna couldn't take it and got up to sit with Alexis and hold her close. "I'm sure your dad has a plan. Just give him a chance." Johanna hugged her, kissed her head, and prayed that she was right.

Rick meanwhile had stopped at Scheels All Sports, parking way out in the north 40 of the parking lot so he could get his truck and trailer in then get out again. "Okay, everyone stay here and I'll be back as fast as I can." He exited the truck and jogged to the entrance where he grabbed a cart and headed for the camping section.

Wenzel Blue Ridge 7 person tent. Wenzel Pine Ridge 4 person 2 room tent. Two large ground cloths, collapsible water containers, Igloo 54 quart cooler, Yeti tie down strap, 3 Hello Kitty backpacks, 1 Spiderman backpack, 1 Star Wars backpack. Rick had never roughed with a woman before let alone 5 little girls so he didn't get them anything.

That left Rick wandering around to see if there was anything else he needed. He had the food, a cooler to put the food in. "Something to cook it all in," he said to himself. Texsport cooking set along with cooking utensils and a grate to cook on. "I have paper plates, cups, and plastic silverware." He tried to think. "Lights!" That had him pushing his already full cart to another section.

A Coleman lantern with carrying case, 5 LED headlamps with adjustable elastic bands worn on the head. "Sleeping bags for 3 adults." He pushed his overflowing cart to another section.

Hundreds of dollars later he was pushing his over full cart back out to the trailer where he threw everything inside. He ignored the looks Oscar was giving him. His idea was a surprise and he wanted to spring it on them.

Kate naturally got home long before Rick did. _'Where are you?"_ she asked him. _'About an hour out. Have your mom and Alexis meet me at home with food for breakfast and lunch, and clothes for tonight and tomorrow,'_ he told her.

Kate was just reaching the site and meeting up with Matt and two members of the State Police. She had already called the base and they were sending a car though they admitted to nothing.

Rick was starting his first of six attempts to back his trailer into place.

"Girls your sleeping bags should be by the front door. I want you to go get them and come back down here," Rick told them then opened the garage door so he could get the quad out and ride it over to the door of the trailer. "What are you doing?" Oscar was curious, though he had seen Rick pushing a cart that was filled to overflowing.

"We're going camping, real out-in-the-woods camping. Put the cooler on the quad and wait for Johanna to put food in it while I get the ice. There are backpacks for the girls so have them put their sleep clothes inside along with clothes for tomorrow. Have Johanna divvy up the dry food in their backpacks."

"I'll be back with something to put our clothes in. …Damn, call Johanna and have her bring clothes for you, too. Strap that and the tents to the back of the quad along with everything else." And he ran inside just as the girls hurried back down the outside front stairs carrying child-sized daytime sleeping bags.

He gathered up all the comforters he could find, took them outside, and threw them at Oscar shortly before Johanna drove up then he ran back inside to get the ice out of his bin and prayed it would be enough for one night.

The girls and Johanna were missing when he came back and dumped all the ice he had into the cooler seeing she had put food for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch inside it then he strapped it to his quad. Johanna and the girls came out carrying their new backpacks. "You two put some clothes for tonight and tomorrow in this while I get mine," Rick told them and disappeared into the trailer.

He checked everything and made sure the girls were wearing their backpacks and holding onto their sleeping bags. "Okay, we've been camping in a trailer. Now we're going camping in tents. OUT THERE!" He pointed to a place out past his little valley.

The girls had their headlamps on their heads with them turned on. Rick was riding the quad going really slow while Oscar and Johanna were carrying flashlights that Rick had gotten out of the house along with another bag that had other things they were going to need like matches, bug spray, a first aid kit, hand wipes, and toilet paper.

It was really dark and the girls were looking tired when they finally got into the tree line, going a little farther until they found a small clearing. Rick had the girls look for rocks to make a fire ring with while the adults set up the two large tents. Amazingly, even though she was a bona fide city gal, Johanna knew what she was doing and the tents only got set up because of her. "Now we need firewood. Everyone spread out and gather what you can carry," Rick instructed them. They actually did it three times. "We need 8 long sticks," he informed them and took out a bag of marshmallows and held it up for all to see. They didn't have chairs this time so everyone sat on the ground, however he saw smiles on the girls' faces again, so he counted it as a win.

The girls were crashing fast; there were lots of yawns and eye rubbing. Johanna got their sleep clothes out, spread out the 5 sleeping bags, and helped them get undressed and into their pajamas. After making sure each was snug in their sleeping bag, she kissed their foreheads good night.

"You're a good man Rick." Johanna was amazed at what he'd done and kissed his cheek. She sat down next to Oscar as the three of them went back to roasting marshmallows. "What did Kate say?" Oscar was curious. Johanna shook her head. "Not much actually, just that there was an explosion of unknown cause." She shared with them what little she had gotten out of her daughter.

' _Are you there yet? What did you find?'_ Rick asked her. _'Yeah I'm here and it's dark. There are only my car lights and the state troopers' vehicle's lights. It looks like it used to be a house. It really is gone Rick. Blown-to-pieces kind of gone,'_ Kate told him. _'Gas explosion? Scratch that. He would have propane like the rest of us. TNT maybe?'_ he suggested. _'The debris is everywhere so an explosive is possible, but it would need to be a big one. I'm going to be here all night so don't wait up for me,'_ she told him.

A quick phone call into the state to see about getting an investigative team out here to determine how this house blew up and if anyone was in it at the time.

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Jenny was the first of the girls up and found Rick already outside trying to get the fire going again. "Bathroom?" Jenny asked him. "Number one or number two?" he asked her. She started to blush and held up one finger. "Pick a bush way over there somewhere and squat down. We don't have real bathrooms way out here," he told her and watched her walk away. "Or maybe sit on the end of a log."

Johanna woke up just in time to hear Rick's voice, but her mind wasn't operational enough to figure out what he was saying. She did find herself curled up next to Oscar in their half of the tent Rick had bought. "Jo, I know you're awake and while I would really like for you to stay right where you are, but I've _got_ to pee," Oscar was forced to tell her. "Me too," she added and soon both of them were outside.

"Jenny went that way," Rick told them guessing why they were up and out of the tent just as he got the fire lit and began adding wood left over from last night.

Jenny was pointing out places for the other girls to go when she got back. "Breakfast?" Jenny asked. "I'm just getting started so it will be a few minutes this time," Rick informed her.

Johanna was back and helped the girls all get dressed for the day. After breakfast they would use up some of the water they had to brush their teeth, followed by herself, Oscar, and Rick.

"I wonder what Katie's doing?" Johanna started helping Rick. "The satellite phone is on my side of the tent. Kate said it looked like the explosion was of what used to be a house," he told her, though he didn't get it from using the phone. "Was there anyone inside?" Johanna wasn't sure she wanted to know and her question got out before she could stop it. "She said there wasn't enough left of the house to tell," he replied. Johanna tried to think how a house could blow up that spectacularly. Gas explosion was out since everyone out here, outside of town, had propane not natural gas. That didn't leave much else. She came walking out of the tent with his satellite phone at her ear. She hung up. "It went straight to voice mail," she informed them.

It took time to cook everyone breakfast followed by feeding the dogs some of Midas and Maggie's food since that was all Rick brought with him. Then he put some water in a bowl and watched the four of them drink it dry. He refilled the bowl before leaving the campsite on their adventure.

After the adults were dressed Rick announced, "The first thing we're going to do before lunch is a scavenger hunt! Alexis, Paige, since you two are the oldest, I believe, you two are going to team up. The rest of you pick an adult." Rick had faith in Alexis not to do something stupid.

Johanna ended up with Sara, Oscar got Jenny, and Rick got Samantha. "Now the rules: each team has until lunch. The first team back with each item is the winner. You need five different leaves from trees. Not five leaves from the same tree, but five different ones. You need two pine cones, one all closed up that's green or brown and the other one large and all opened up. You need a stick that looks like a slingshot meaning it has to look like a large 'Y.' Also you need to find two pieces of trash. Not our trash but a piece of trash that's been out here for a long time. The longer it's been out here the better. One has to be paper and one has to be metal," he briefed them.

"Everyone got all that?" He looked at everyone and down at Samantha. "Everybody ready? Get set and…go!" He took Samantha's hand and they started running while looking for what they need to find.

Rick found the two different pine cones almost immediately and gave them to Samantha to hold onto. They split up a little bit to cover more ground but he never let her out his sight. He soon had 2 leaves that were different and joined Samantha when he heard, "Mr. Rodgers!" Samantha held up her hand to show him what she had found.

"Our piece of paper trash. We are so going to win this!" he exclaimed as Samantha grinned and nodded. "We need three more different leaves and one more piece of trash," he informed her. "Mr. Rodgers!" Samantha yelled when she found an old campsite with a fire pit. She reached inside and pulled out a yucky, burnt beer can that actually had a bullet hole in it. "NICE GOING SAM!" He knelt down to hug her and felt her melt into him like he expected her to.

"We need three more leaves. Maybe that way?" he suggested trying not to get too far away from camp. They were walking mostly looking down at the ground yet again.

"Missterr Rodggerrrss?" The terror in Samantha's voice immediately got his attention. He looked for her; she was a little off to his right and was staring out into the woods. He started running towards her and looked out past her to see what had her attention.

Several hundred feet away he saw two very large Kodiak bears that were on all fours just standing there side by side staring at the two of them. _'_ _ **OH SHIT!**_ _"_ Rick thought.

' _What babe!?'_


	48. Chapter 48

**CH48**

Rick ignored Sam at first since he was too focused on the pair of bears only a few hundred feet away. He slipped around Samantha and put her behind him while keeping his eyes on the bears. They looked like teenagers to him and were likely out from the community looking for some fun. He could take them easily, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get injured doing so. Plus if he didn't have time to strip he was going to lose the only change of clothes he had out here. It looked like they were sniffing the air, actively trying to get a feel for what they had in front of them. Even Rick could smell Samantha's extreme fear, so they probably could too. He, however, had no real fear of them.

He leaned down. "Sam, when I tell you to run, I want you to run to the campsite just as fast as you can," Rick whispered to her. "Mr. Rodgers?" Samantha wasn't a fan of his plan. "Please Sam, get ready to run." He straightened up and started to slowly unbutton his shirt just as he watched those two lope off to their right and away from them a little. " **NOW** **Sam** **!** **RUN**! Run as fast as you can and don't stop till you get to camp! Run honey, run fast!" He gave her a little push to get her moving and watched her run for all she was worth.

Rick could still see the two bears and they were headed away, but not back toward the community. He began stripping off his clothes just a little faster. He lost sight of them but continued to remove his clothes. _'Babe, talk to me.'_ Kate sounded worried to him. _'_ _It's j_ _ust a couple of teenagers from the community out looking for trouble. Nothing to worry about_ _,_ _'_ he told her since he knew he could take them if it came to that. _'If you're sure_ _..._ _'_ It wasn't like Kate had a choice. She was too far away by Jeep and surrounded by state officers. She couldn't possibly shift into her dragon.

The two teenagers had smelled Rick and knew they were no match for him so they decided to look for amusement elsewhere. And they thought they had just found it. Their noses told them there were two little girls nearby and they decided to have some fun. It was only when the girls spotted both of them that they figured out that one of them was a shifter. Still she was young and alone. They could have a great time!

"Alexis!?" Paige was quaking in her shoes as they both looked at the two bears who were actually walking right at them! _'I can't change, I can't change_ _,_ _'_ Alexis kept telling herself. Kate and her dad had told her not to. Her friends couldn't know, but the bears were getting closer. "Alexis?" Paige tugged on her top. Paige wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment.

It wasn't until those two idiots started loping towards Paige and Alexis that the girls turned and ran. It was just what the two teenagers wanted them to do so they picked up their pace a bit. Scaring two little girls was turning out to be quite a lot of fun.

Rick had just finished stripping when he felt fear. Not smelled it but felt it. The last time he had felt that kind of fear was… He immediately shifted into his bear and charged, running to save his baby. Alexis was in trouble, that was what he felt! _'Alexis!'_ He didn't realize it but he had just sent a fear warning to Kate. _'Rick! Talk to me. What's wrong with Alexis?_ _!_ _'_ Kate demanded worriedly and ran to her Jeep. If she could get just far enough away she could shift and fly to help him...

' _We're fine,_ _I promise_ _.'_ He was sure he could handle the situation. Kate, however, hopped in her Jeep and began driving out into the woods doing her best to drive fast while missing trees.

Paige was out in front and Alexis was losing ground little by little. Paige was older and faster than she was. But Alexis turned her head to take a quick look behind her, which only slowed her down that much more. She saw the bears were a lot closer than she remembered them being. But she also saw a flash of something that had her slowing down even more so she could get a good look. What she saw was a huge bear running in from her right headed toward the other two bears. She stopped in her tracks. " **DAD!** " Knowing that the two bears were about to be in big trouble had her smiling.

Rick was huffing and grunting as softly as he could since he wanted the element of surprise. And he got it until he was just a few feet away when they both caught wind of his scent. Rick came charging in and smashed into one of the bear's sides sending him flying several feet before hitting a tree and falling to the ground. The remaining teenager hit the brakes and was all set to defend himself from what had hit his friend when he watched the impossibly big bear rise up, towering over him. The huge bear let out a roar directed solely at him which almost had him peeing on himself. Still it did give Rick the time he needed to strike out with his left paw as he slapped that stupid bear which also sent him flying into a tree where he fell to the ground.

Alexis watched as her dad hit both of them and sent them flying. _'I'm a brave bear, I'm a brave bear. Mom said I was_ _,_ _'_ she thought to herself and started removing her clothes. Rick meanwhile charged over to those two idiots and planted a front paw on one of them pinning him to the ground while he roared at the other. That one took a couple of seconds to turn into a naked human male. "We're sorry. Honest! We were just having some fun. We weren't going to…humpf," as he fell to the ground with a bear standing on top of him who for all the world looked ready to take a huge bite out of him.

Rick shifted back to being human. "ALEXIS!" he called which got her to stop and look his way. "Come on pumpkin, it's alright. They're just two idiots who need to be taught a lesson." He was trying to talk her off of the kid. But she was in "brave bear" mode and leaned down to growl in his face. She allowed her saliva to drip and hit him in the face.

Still Rick's call got Alexis off of him and over next to her dad looking for all the world like a "brave bear." _'I'm coming!'_ Kate told him as she hit the brakes and leaped out of the Jeep. She had begun taking off her equipment belt and gun when Rick told her, _'We're both fine Kate, just fine. It was just two stupid teenagers out looking for trouble and they found it. Your brave little bear actually had one of them pinned to the ground_ _!_ _'_ He was so very proud of his little girl.

' _You're sure_ _?_ _'_ Kate asked just as she stripped off her shirt leaving her standing there with only a bra on top. _'Positive! We're going to teach these two a lesson and then join the others_ _,_ _'_ he said. That was enough to get Kate to put her top back on. _'Yell if you need me_ _,_ _'_ she replied before she got fastened on her equipment belt. _'You'll be the first to know. I promise_ _,_ _'_ he said to her.

"Now you two idiots are going to apologize to my daughter! Sincerely enough that it prevents me from shifting back into a bear and ripping your heads off," Rick informed both of them and watched while the one he had been putting pressure on with his paw started to put up a fight.

Alexis, it seemed, had been waiting for one of them to do something and quickly bent down and bit him in the leg causing him to roar in pain as she continued to maul his leg with her teeth.

Unfortunately this caused the other one to shift back into a bear which had Rick shifting back into his bear just as the kid took a swipe at him. The damage was minimal and Rick knew he would heal quickly so long as he stayed a bear. He was now royally pissed and while still towering over that stupid kid, reared back and swung his right paw hard enough that it did some severe damage to the kid's chest and sent him flying.

The one Alexis was still biting took a swing at her and did some minor damage but she didn't let go; his leg was looking quite messy by now. Rick lumbered over and bent down putting the kid's head in his mouth. He angrily roared and then placed his front paws on his chest pushing down just hard enough until he heard a number of ribs crack and saw blood leak out of the kid's mouth.

Rick, still as a bear, coaxed Alexis off of the kid's leg and cuddled her close to him touching the spot where she had been hit healing a small portion of it. He could have done more healing if it was Kate since she was his mate. However Alexis was his offspring so it worked for her, too. Just not as well.

He sat there holding Alexis as he watched that stupid kid bleed. His leg was a mess and his chest looked a little flatter. Rick knew his own wounds would heal while he was on his way back to his clothes. The kid's wounds would heal also; it would just be a couple of days before he could walk again.

Rick shifted back into human form and leaned down to the kid who was still conscious. "That was my daughter you were messing with. Be thankful that you and your friend aren't dead. I find you on my land again and I _will_ end you and anyone with you," Rick threatened with deadly calm and went back to Alexis.

"Change back for me, please, pumpkin," he asked her and soon had his naked 6-year-old daughter in his arms hugging her close. "Did Paige see you change?" he asked her as she shook her head. "I'm so proud of you. You really are our brave little bear." Rick pushed her out just far enough to kiss her head. "How do you feel? Does anything hurt?" he asked anxiously as he started looking her over. He did see some minor white scaring that at her age wouldn't be noticeable and would fade to nothing as she grew up. Alexis shook her head. "I'm still proud of you. Kate would be too if she had been here to see it. Now you have a story to tell her when she gets home," he told her which had her smiling widely. She was a brave bear, not a monster. It still left her with a question though, but she was going to wait until Kate got home to ask it.

Rick helped her get dressed. "I'm going to trust you to go back to the campsite on your own. I need to go find my own clothes and get dressed. Do _not_ let me down Alexis. I expect to find you at the campsite when I get there. Remember, _you did not turn into a bear._ You simply ran a different direction than Paige did." He impressed upon her what she should say and watched her run toward the campsite before he shifted back into a bear himself. He ran for where he left his clothes needing his bear's ability to scent to find them again.

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Johanna and Sarah walked into camp convinced that they had won the little scavenger hunt. "You're really good Sarah and you have sharp eyes." Johanna was hugging her close as they walked. When they entered the campsite they found a very frightened and crying Samantha, so upset that her breath was hitching. It took what felt like to Johanna to be at least half an hour but was only fifteen minutes or so before Samantha was calm enough to tell her what happened. "Hold onto her," Johanna asked Sarah and walked away to look in the direction Samantha said she came from. However Johanna saw nothing.

Johanna was rubbing both girls' backs since Samantha had scared Sarah, when things got worse. A scared to death Paige came charging in all alone. It felt to Johanna like hours before Paige was anywhere near calm enough to answer her questions. Her first question was, "Where's Alexis?" only to see Paige shrug her shoulders.

No Rick, no Alexis, no Oscar, and no Jenny. Just her and three scared girls plus four on edge dogs that sniffed everywhere. Johanna got the girls to help her build the fire in their fire pit up nice and big and got them to stay close to it and her.

Oscar and Jenny were the next into camp. He wondered why the fire was so big. Johanna immediately wanted to know whether he or Jenny saw any bears. "No, we didn't see any bears," he told Johanna and turned to look at Jenny who shook her head. The girls huddled together as Samantha and Paige told Jenny what had happened. Johanna took Oscar aside and told him what she knew and of her worries because Rick and Alexis had yet to return. Johanna and Oscar got Paige to point where she had come from and he headed out leaving Johanna with the girls and the dogs who were staked out in their campsite close to the girls. Midas and Maggie could smell the fear radiating off them and didn't see Alexis. Still from the dogs' perspective they had four little girls to protect until Alexis came back.

Johanna was growing even more concerned when suddenly all four dogs started straining against the stake they were leashed to. She was beginning to wonder if the two bears had decided to come to their campsite. However it was Alexis running out of the trees. Johanna intercepted her and wrapped her arms around her having been so very frightened for her. "I lost track of Paige and just ran," Alexis said, telling a white lie. She had run, just not away from the bears. She was a brave bear and her friends couldn't know. Alexis also had Midas and Maggie poking their noses all over her sniffing her as far as they could reach. She had new smells on her and they wanted to know what it was. Alexis hugged each of them. Midas and Maggie concentrated on sniffing where she had been hurt.

It felt like Oscar had been gone for hours to Johanna when he came back alone not having seen either Alexis or Rick. Fortunately Rick entered the campsite from a completely different direction moments after Oscar returned. "Yeah, Samantha and I ran across a pair of bears. I had Samantha run while I charged the bears and threw rocks at them. It's possible that I ran them off directly towards Alexis and Paige," he told Johanna who ran to him looking him over to make sure he was alright despite his assurances. (It was exactly what people are supposed to not do, but then Rick was a bear and he was lying.)

Rick approached each girl and gave them a hug that helped to take away some of their fears. He got close enough for Midas and Maggie to smell him pretty well. He had the same scents as Alexis did and he had also been hurt. "Everyone ok?" Rick asked each of them. "I'm really sorry that happened. I've never had a bear problem before. I think they're both gone now, but maybe we should go home." He looked over at Johanna and Oscar for their opinions. The adults were in agreement; they took down their campsite and packed it all onto the quad.

The girls had their backpacks and sleeping bags while Johanna and Oscar had the leashes to the dogs as they walked back to Rick's house. It was mostly a quiet walk as they wanted to forget about the bears but just couldn't. It was something each girl was going to remember for years to come.

They let the girls play on Alexis's playset with the dogs running around them while the adults were inside keeping an eye on them as Johanna worked on dinner. Oscar was standing in the living room keeping an eye on the girls when Rick walked into the kitchen. "Were those bears from your father's community?" Johanna asked him quietly as she kept working.

"Yeah, they were a pair of stupid teenagers. They thought scaring the girls would be fun," he told her. "I guess stupid teenagers aren't restricted to humans alone," Johanna mentioned. "No, they're not. I don't think they actually had any intention of hurting anyone. They were just being imbeciles," he said.

"Do they always come this close?" Johanna was curious. "Not normally no, I'm far enough away that it's not easy for them to come this far. Hopefully they'll spread the word and this won't be repeated," he told her.

"I wonder what Katie's doing?" Johanna said suddenly, concerned for her daughter. "Let's find out," Rick offered and searched for his satellite phone to call her. He was back in the kitchen by the time Kate picked up. "Where are you?" he asked. "Still at the site. I've got a military car with a colonel in charge who has a flatbed where he's going to put what's left of their helicopter," she told him.

"The military lost a helicopter there?" That was news to Rick and it got Johanna's attention. "What kind?" he queried. "They're not telling me and there isn't enough left of it for me to tell what it was. Not that I'm allowed to get too close either," she complained as Johanna sidled up next to him and put her ear close enough to overhear.

"Just you and the military?" he asked her as he moved the phone away from his ear so Johanna could hear better. "No, there are two members of the state police as well as a two member team with dogs that are going through what's left of the house trying to figure out what did this," she said. "Any guesses yet?" he inquired. "Nothing definitive, though they and I are convinced that it was an explosion. It will take some testing to determine what type of explosive was used; the results won't be back for days, if not weeks, from now," Kate replied. She was extremely frustrated.

"Interesting that a military helicopter has crashed nearby. Rather coincidental," Rick mentioned casually in case anyone else could hear their conversation. "You're thinking it was involved in this?" Kate questioned him. "The military has attack helicopters. Either those big Vietnam helicopters or those little attack choppers," he offered. "Why would the military be involved? Why attack the sheriff's house?" she wondered aloud. _'Remember what Serena told us about the_ _s_ _heriff being involved with Paladin and that Paladin was cleaning house_ _?_ _'_ he asked her. _'_ _Paladin has_ _people in the military?'_ Kate was absolutely dumbfounded.

' _Look around while you_ _'_ _re there_ _,_ _except instead of looking down_ _,_ _look up. See if you see any_ _r_ _ed-_ _t_ _ailed_ _h_ _awks watching your every move_ _,'_ Rick said to her. That got her to open her eyes wide and began looking up, searching. "Have you eaten at all Katie?" Johanna asked during the silence, not knowing the two of them were talking to each other. The silence had lasted too long. "KATIE!" Johanna barked. "I'm sorry Mom but I've been busy," Kate defended herself. "I'm not a big fan of chewing on a tree. That's about the only thing out here even remotely edible." She tried laughing it off. Johanna, however, stared at Rick willing him to read her mind.

"Tell me exactly where you are Kate," he asked her. "Rick…" Kate was interrupted. "Katherine Houghton Beckett." Johanna wasn't going to put up with this nonsense. "I'm still at the sheriff's house," she relented.

Kate now had a new reason to confront the not overly helpful colonel who had shown up and not said much. Plus having state troopers with dogs had given her an idea. Maybe she could have one of the PT-Cruisers converted into a K-9 unit even if that meant she had to change cars after Greta got there.

Rick was getting in his truck with their dinner along with paper plates, bottled drinks, and plastic silverware. Johanna was going to have to cook another dinner. "Apologize to Alexis for me. If I told her where I was going she'd want to come with me. She's better off staying here with her friends," Rick said to Johanna. "We'll be fine, just go feed Katie." Johanna pulled him down a little and lifted up to kiss his cheek. "The parents of the girls should be arriving shortly," he reminded her since tonight was when they should have returned instead of yesterday. "Oscar and I will be here waiting for them and you to get back," Johanna assured him and watched him drive away to tend to her stubborn daughter. "Please tell me that you two are in love by now," Johanna said to herself. She wanted Kate happy and choices of men out here seemed far and few between. Plus even in her eyes Rick was a catch and it didn't hurt that he was rich. Well rich enough anyway.

Johanna and Oscar greeted each of the parents at the front door and told them that Rick was taking food out to her daughter and 4 state troopers who were doing their job.

Each adult had _a_ _n entire_ _herd of cows,_ not just _a_ cow, when they found out about the bears. "Rick drove them off risking his own life," Oscar defended his friend fiercely. "Did you at least have fun?" Samantha's mom asked her daughter. "It was great Mom!" Samantha was even more enthusiastic. "Can I go again Mom? Please? Mr. Rodgers said it was okay." Samantha wanted to do things, things she was afraid her parents wouldn't do. "We'll talk to your father," was all her mother said, but that seemed to be enough for Samantha in the eyes of Johanna and Oscar.

"I think Rick was talking about Labor Day for the next trip; he just doesn't know where yet," Johanna said hoping that helped. "We'll talk to your father," she simply stated again.

Johanna closed the front door and sagged wearily against it after the last of the parents were gone. "Well, that didn't go as badly as I feared," she mentioned to Oscar who was standing there with her. But Johanna was still fearful that each of the parents was going to forbid their girl from even coming over here again after this. That they were just being nice before lowering the boom on poor Alexis.

"I always thought bears were solitary animals," Oscar mused. "Maybe these two were different, or maybe one was female," Johanna suggested, "Looking for new territory to start a family." He tilted his head from side to side considering what Johanna had said. It made a little sense to him. "Speaking of family," he smiled and took a chance. He worked at sliding his arms around Johanna and kissed her softly till she began returning his kiss. Then he deepened his kiss. He pushed Johanna up against the door as he continued to kiss her.

"Can I take Midas and Maggie outside?" a soft voice suddenly asked. He abruptly moved away from Johanna. It took her a moment to get her mind into gear. "Sure honey, I'll even come with you. Go get Patch and Thor," she told Alexis, thinking that all of the dogs might as well go outside.

Oscar sat down in front of the TV and let Johanna tend to Alexis since he didn't want to push Johanna too far. He was still afraid she might make a break for it and run away from him.

Alexis was soon laughing as she watched four dogs chase after a stuffed dog toy that she threw as far as she could. Long legs versus short legs - who had speed for their size? Midas or Maggie would get to it first only to have Patch or Thor jump up and take it out of their mouth and run back to Alexis and drop it only to do it all over again.

Johanna was just happy watching Alexis play with the dogs as she marveled how the dogs got along so well even if Midas and Maggie looked vicious and were so much bigger than Patch and Thor. They were such a contrast. Midas and Maggie looked to be all made of muscle and likely were. While Patch and Thor looked to be balls of hair and yet while watching she could swear Patch was in charge as she jumped to rip the toy out of that mouth full of teeth.

Johanna didn't notice when Alexis walked up next to her. "Are you and Oscar getting married?" she asked innocently. "WHAT!?" Johanna stared down at her quite startled. "You like Oscar and you kissed him," Alexis simply stated what she had seen. Johanna stared at Alexis who picked up the toy Patch dropped at her feet and threw it, repeating the doggie game all over again.

"I, ah… Oscar is a very nice man and yes, we have been kissing. But that doesn't mean we're getting married. Just that we like each other a lot," Johanna tried to explain to Alexis and herself.

"You don't love Oscar like Kate loves Dad?" Alexis stayed on subject. Johanna suddenly had something to change the subject to. "Katie loves Rick?" Johanna was suddenly really happy. "They kiss and tell each other they love them all the time. It's…cute." Alexis didn't know of another word to use.

She leaned down to Alexis. "Rick and Katie love each other. Have they talked about getting married?" She was digging for information wondering why she hadn't thought of asking Alexis before now. Alexis just nodded.

She thought back and didn't remember seeing a ring on Katie's finger. Did that mean she had one and just wasn't wearing it? NO, no woman in love would do that. She would wear that ring like it was the most precious thing she owned since it came from someone's heart.

Johanna smiled and kissed Alexis's forehead. Her daughter was in love. She had hoped she was, now she had more than hope.


	49. Chapter 49

**CH49**

Rick found Kate's Jeep as he pulled up, just not Kate herself. _'Where are you? I'm here with dinner for you and your state troopers_ _,_ _'_ Rick told her. _'I'll be right there_ _,_ _just give me a few minutes_ _,_ _'_ she replied. He spent the time pulling the single folding table he had brought with him along with four folding chairs out of the truck. The chairs were the inexpensive ones he had bought locally earlier in Newcastle. That was followed by setting plates of food out along with something to drink though he kept one of the Honey beers for himself.

Eventually he spotted her walking his way with two of the state troopers right behind her. Rick's green-eyed monster made a brief appearance as it became clear to him that the two troopers were watching her ass most of the way.

"Thanks babe." Kate kissed him just as her stomach rumbled at the smell of food. _'What's wrong?'_ She hadn't gotten the kiss she had been expecting. _'Those two watched your ass all the way o_ _ver_ _here_ _,_ _'_ he informed her, still not liking those two. _'And you're jealous. That's_ _so_ _sweet!'_ Kate kissed him but still didn't get the kiss she wanted back from him. _'Babe, they can look all they want, they just can't have me. Now kiss me_ _,_ _'_ she told him and finally got a better kiss though she'd had better from him.

"This is really good," one of the troopers commented. "I'll be happy to tell my mother you liked it. She's opening a new restaurant in Newcastle on the 4th," she informed them. "What's it called? We may just have to pass through that town on purpose," the same trooper said. "It's called AFTER DARK and it's only open for dinner," she said. They were eventually joined by the other two troopers who had the dogs. They were all just finishing up and had thanked Rick for the food when a military car stopped and Kate's hated colonel stepped out. "We have our helicopter and we'll be out of your hair in minutes," he announced.

"Oh, you've been in my hair before I even got here. Care to explain why your helicopter blew up this home?" Kate asked him. "I'm sure you're mistaken. We haven't yet learned why it's out here but we will," the colonel advised them. "That's nice but I have a witness that watched it all happen. A Cobra attack helicopter, as I'm sure you well know, promptly put six Hellfire missiles into this home the second it showed up. Now explain to me why the military wanted this home blown to hell!" Kate was still sitting while looking up at him. The state troopers were also now listening intently.

"I'm sure you're mistaken and if you had a witness you wouldn't have waited until now to produce this person," the colonel countered. "Now if you'll excuse me we're done here." Kate, however, launched herself out of her chair which got the attention of the colonel's driver as he placed a hand on his side arm.

"My name is Katherine Beckett and I was a homicide detective in New York City. My team and my precinct had the highest closure rate in the city while I worked there. I'm not some stupid girl or a country hick who doesn't know the difference between a Cobra helicopter and a 747 jet. And for your information the explosives tests are going to be sent out of state for analysis. More than one out-of-state lab if I can arrange it, even if I have to take it there personally. How much would you like to bet that the chemicals in Hellfire missiles are different from a block of Semtex? Plus do you really think you can hide the loss of a Cobra attack helicopter, its 2 man crew, and the Hellfire missiles it was carrying?" Kate got up in his face.

"Do not involve yourself in something that does not concern you, _ACTING SHERIFF_ ," the colonel warned her sternly. "Doesn't concern me!? I've got a witness that tells me there were 5 adults and 2 children in that home when you, your helicopter, and your men swooped in and blew it to hell. We're going to find enough DNA eventually to prove it. And if I find out that you're involved in this murder, you are going down whether you ordered it or are simply covering it up. That still makes you a murderer either before or after the fact. Which means you are now playing in _my_ ballpark," Kate almost snarled in her fury with that high-handed jackass of a colonel.

"Good luck with that acting sheriff. We're leaving, let's go," he ordered his driver which had her putting her hand on her gun thinking about putting a round in his front tire. _'Don't Kate. You have 4 state troopers and me on your side. He or the military can't hide it forever. Don't forget we have friends like Serena for example_ _,_ _'_ he told her. _'And I'm betting that your witness and her family are going to follow them all the way back to their base. You_ _'_ _ll know exactly where that helicopter ends up.'_

"This isn't over Colonel. You can't hide having murdered 7 people forever. There is no statute of limitations on murder," Kate called after him. "Yes, acting sheriff, it _is_ over. You just don't know it yet," he countered as he got in his car and drove away.

"Witness?" one of the state troopers asked. "In protective custody so that the military doesn't get their hands on this person. I'll ask if they're willing to talk with you after we're done here. The military is hiding something and I'm not losing this person to them as they try and cover this up," she said firmly. "Our captain may not go for that, but it's enough for now. Just be ready to hand this person over when you're told to," the state trooper warned her. "Let's find this evidence, shall we, before the military sends another helicopter and blows us to hell and gone to cover themselves," she asked them.

"You should be going babe and thanks so much for dinner," she told Rick. "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere. I figured you would stay out here another night and probably haven't slept yet. Which is why I brought a lot of the camping equipment we used earlier with me," he told her. "And save it, I'm staying. Alexis has your mother, Oscar, and Midas and Maggie to protect her. And we both know that if Alexis is threatened that we're both going to know it." He tried to cut off her objections.

Kate felt her heart open up just a little more not believing that was possible for to love this man even more. Her answer was to step into his hug, let his magic work on her, then she kissed him. She buried her face in his chest and let him hug her. "I love you," she whispered into his chest. "I love you, too. Now show me what we're looking for so we can shove it down that colonel's throat," he demanded. "Oh here, before I forget,your mother wanted to talk with you." He handed Kate her satellite phone that he had gotten out of her Jeep.

"Hi Mom, thanks for dinner," Kate told her as soon as she answered. "How are you doing Katie? When was the last time you slept?" Johanna inquired, barely taking a breath between questions. "I'm doing fine Mom, just fine. Listen I'm going to be here until at least until tomorrow. We still have a lot of work to do," she advised her. "Just be safe Katie, that's all I ask," Johanna told her and Kate hung up.

Kate made another call. "Sloan, this is Beckett. You'll probably be getting a phone call or a visit from a certain Colonel Pike. Just tell him what he wants to know, no matter what he asks you. Do you understand?" Kate needed to know exactly what Sloan was going to tell him. So long as he told Pike the truth, she knew what to expect. "Yes ma'am. Do you need help, ma'am?" Sloan didn't know what he could do, but he could try and think of something. "No Sloan, but thanks for asking. Just keep holding down the fort. I'll be in tomorrow. Has anything come in recently?" Kate asked him. "No ma'am, it's actually been amazingly quiet lately," Sloan answered her. "Good, let's hope it stays that way. I have to go, just do what I told you." And Kate hung up the phone and went to join Rick who was with the state troopers.

By the end of the day the state had what it wanted and was going to send it into their state lab for analysis. Kate also had her samples to be sent in for analysis, only it wouldn't be to the same lab. Rick had already set up the two room tent that he had shared with Johanna and Oscar over the weekend along with 2 of the sleeping bags he had bought earlier. He had water, some breakfast bars, and toothpaste and toothbrushes for both of them. He had even taken the time to zip the two sleeping bags together.

Kate placed all her paper bags that contained her evidence in one room while she slipped into the other room where Rick was waiting for her. "God, what I wouldn't give for a shower." She laid down on Rick without bothering to take her clothes off. "Tired?" he asked her since she had been out here a long time. "Very, but not that tired." She began working on unbuckling Rick's belt followed by unzipping his zipper.

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"Sir, reporting as ordered." He stood at attention and saluted his commanding officer. "At ease soldier," Pike told him and watched him relax just a little. "We have a problem. Someone shot down our helicopter and the local county sheriff is being difficult. She even called in the state to help her investigate. The state cars will deliver their evidence they have gathered and it will conveniently disappear. However, I don't trust this county sheriff. She's just a little too sure of herself," Pike informed him. "Do I eliminate her sir?" He was perfectly willing to eliminate her and, if she was good looking enough, maybe even have a little fun with her first. "Only if necessary, but I want the evidence she has collected. Be advised that her boyfriend may be with her and he's a big guy," Pike warned. "Shouldn't be a problem sir." Maybe she would even watch him die.

"Take the Toyota and take the ultra-light with you. Use it if you think you need it. I want those samples and if those two get in the way…" Well, he wasn't going to lose any sleep if their dead bodies were never found. "Bury them," Pike ordered him. "Get moving."

"Yes sir." He came to attention and saluted before turning crisply and leaving with a smile on his face. The other two had gotten sloppy and gotten themselves killed. These two were never going to know what hit them.

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He elected not to use the ultra-light and simply used the trees to move in closer and closer to the site in question. The information Pike had handed over said that she had a dark green Jeep 4x4 while her boyfriend had a large, black, Ford truck 4x4. He had no problem finding them and using them to calculate his approach. Still he didn't see them or where they were sleeping until he got a view between her Jeep and his truck. There was what looked like a tent large enough to hold maybe four people. He needed to get eyes on them to make sure he knew where they were. For all he knew they were out collecting wood for a fire that they didn't appear to have. Or they were off peeing in the woods before coming back.

It took him time but he crawled his way over to just under the front bumper of the boyfriend's truck. The tent was just a few feet away and looked to be closed up so it was likely they were inside. What he needed was a way to verify his supposition. He could blow up the truck and the Jeep forcing them out where he could shoot them. His problem was that he needed to verify the location of the evidence she may have. If he didn't find it he would need hostages to torture the information from. So that eliminated throwing a couple of grenades next to the tent.

He took his time and had just started slicing open the tent so he could take a look inside when suddenly a stupid bird flew over the site and he heard " _ **kee-eeeee-arr**_."The next thing he knew the tent was gone and he was screaming in severe pain because his arm was killing him. It didn't help that his back began hurting a lot as he was being dragged across the road through some open brush that helped rip his back open. He had just enough sense left to turn his head to look at his arm and what he saw terrified the crap out of him. There was a huge bear that had his arm in its mouth, dragging him across the ground.

Suddenly his back hurt even more than his arm did followed closely by his abdominal area. The bear had let go of his arm and his head dropped. He saw a tree branch protruding from his abdomen. He was impaled by a tree limb had began bleeding out. Still his training kicked in and he had his side arm in his hand and actually got a shot off that hit the bear. However he watched as the bear swung a paw and his hand along with part of that arm was ripped clean off. He was off the ground with a piece of a tree sticking out of him. He was still alive and slapping at the tree limb when he saw a beautiful naked woman come running up and stand next to the impossibly big bear.

"Nice job babe." And she actually tried to hug the bear with a weapon in one hand and kiss his fur. "Looks like Colonel Pike has decided to act quickly just like I thought he might after the state troopers left," Kate told him. "Did you like our alarm system?" she asked looking directly at him and raised her hand. He watched a hawk glide in, land, then turn into a lovely naked woman. "Thanks Allison, I owe you one," Kate told her. "It was my pleasure to assist the lone Wyvern in existence. I will inform Hayley who in turn will inform Serena that we may have someone who can give us a lead to Paladin at last. …I would expect her to show up at your house soon," Allison told them and began to run away. She shifted back into a red-tailed hawk as she made a jump in mid-stride then flew off quickly into the night sky.

' _Yeah, last of my kind_ _,_ _'_ Kate thought. _'Maybe it_ _'_ _s time to remove my IUD_ _,'_ she added to herself. Suddenly he saw the bear turn his head and look at the naked woman who still had hold of some its fur. He could swear he saw tears start running down its fur.

' _I had it all planned out just as soon as I made it back from Rapid City. I was going to have Alexis offer_ _your_ _ring_ _to you_ _when I asked you during a sunrise to symbol_ _ize_ _a bright and shiny new day. But I can feel your heart hurting_ _because_ _you are the last of your kind_ _,'_ Rick told her.

He was coughing up blood and knew he didn't have much longer. He was dead, it was just that his body hadn't died yet. Then he watched the way-too-big-of-a-bear-to-be-believable as it sat down on its ass and held out its front paws. He was astounded that the naked woman stepped right into them without fear.

' _Marry me Kate. We'll make the most beautiful little dragons and/or Kodiak_ _b_ _ears anyone has ever seen or ever will again_ _,_ _'_ Rick lovingly asked her. Kate cried while he hugged her. She felt the power of his hugs calm all her fears and replace them with hope and a future filled with love. If the book was right and Rick was right, they would live together as bound life mates for hundreds of years to come.

' _I want to be your wife so badly baby, so very badly.'_ Kate had never felt like this before in her life. Yes, it was partly due to what Rick was doing to her while hugging her, but she really did love him with all her heart. Suddenly a future with a husband and children didn't sound so scary. She could just imagine what Lanie was going to think about this. Hopefully her medical coverage covered broken ear drums.

When Rick finally let go of Kate he stuffed his nose into her and sniffed. Kate giggled since she felt so good. When they next looked at their guy impaled by a tree branch, he had collapsed and was sagging over the branch, dead.

"We should probably drive home now since our tent is ruined. Plus I need to phone the state and warn them their samples will likely disappear while in the lab unless they redirect them to a different lab they don't usually, if ever, use," Kate told him. "I wish I had time to put on some shoes," she grimaced. She had done her best to ignore the pain of running out here with her weapon in hand. Kate watched Rick crouch down. _'Get on_ _,_ _'_ he said offering her a ride. She soon found herself lying on a bear while grasping two handsful of fur. "I'm riding a bear!" She couldn't believe it while she smiled widely. _'Ride of your lifetime huh?'_ he teased. "And you just had to ruin it _,_ " she replied, teasing.

"I still want you to ask me just like you planned babe. Alexis deserves to be a part of this. Our brave little bear," she told him which had Rick whooping it up silently.

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Serena and Joanne were sitting on the sofa holding onto each other. Along with 3 others of the house, they were in the living room watching _Momento_ on the TV. It was one of the latest movies that had become available for purchase. Suddenly the movie stopped and everyone groaned. "We just bought this stupid machine," Serena grumbled thinking the player had broken down. "My apologies," Sarah said as she suddenly came up on the TV. "But Haley is signaling in and I thought you might want to talk to her," Sarah informed them. "Put her on," Serena called out.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, however one of my family has just returned and it would appear that Katherine Beckett and Richard Rodgers may have just given us the name of a person still associated with Paladin. He is Colonel Jay Pike and he is based at Ellsworth Air Force Base. It is believed that he ordered the destruction of the former sheriff of Weston County using the Cobra helicopter that you shot down."

"He arrived at the crash site to take his helicopter back. He sent a man to kill Kate and Rick tonight and a member of my family warned them about his presence. That man is now dead and Kate is betting that Colonel Pike sent him," Hayley informed them and ended her transmission.

"YES! Movie is over. Load up the plane, we're all going. I want his exact location as soon as you can get it. When will we have eyes on the air base and his home?" Serena asked Sarah. "There is a satellite above the site at this time, however it will be out of range in 15 minutes. The next one will be in one hour thirty minutes," Sarah told them.

"Find everyone else and have them suited up. I want to be in the air in 30 minutes. I want this guy alive before Paladin figures out this colonel is a liability and sends someone to kill him. Let's move like we have a purpose and Sarah, save our place in the movie for when we get back." Serena stood up and headed for the Bat Chopper.

Joanne helped Serena push the tool bin back into the plane followed by the boxes of parts. "Tranquilizers only this trip. I'm not taking a chance that someone may accidentally shoot and kill him; we want him alive." Serena went over to a panel. "Put his face up on the screen," Serena requested. "This is the guy we're after. Try to keep any potential collateral damage to a minimum with hopefully none at all. If this works out we just might have an ID or a lead on the Paladin hierarchy. This is the closest we've ever come and I don't want to lose our chance. Please remember I don't want to lose any of you either. Do not make yourself a martyr just so we can get to Paladin. It's not worth it." Serena didn't want to break anyone's heart let alone her own.

Thirty-two minutes later Serena and her friends, all mountain lions, were airborne and headed towards Rapid City, South Dakota.


	50. Chapter 50

**CH50**

It took some convincing to get the state to not send the samples to their lab and send it out-of-state instead. Kate followed Rick home and put all her samples in his laundry room after he opened the garage door. She had to work her way through Midas, Maggie, Patch, and Thor to do it however. They were very happy to see her.

Tomorrow was July 3rd, 2001 and Kate knew her mother was likely to be nervous. It would be her final day in the high school cooking class while she worked with the student cooks she had hired along with a few others out of that class. Kate knew that most of the others had been hired locally while just a few had moved here from Rapid City because of the job. Plus LT was scheduled to be out here on the 4th to look around. She had high hopes that he would like it. He was a good man and she could use him. She also needed to make a call and see if she could get her hands on a K-9 unit. She'd give up her PT-Cruiser if she had to when the new cars got here.

Kate was really tired and had to give credit to Rick that he managed to keep her awake and alert for when their military guy attacked them to kill them and take her evidence and samples. Now she was asleep the second her head hit the pillow next to Rick.

Come morning she found herself alone in the bed. She swung her legs over the side and shuffled downstairs to find her mother in the kitchen cooking breakfast with the coffee maker already working. "Hi Mom, how long have you been up?" Her mom didn't look like Kate did for some reason. "I couldn't sleep so I was up cleaning someone else's house and decided to start breakfast and coffee," Johanna told her as Kate drank down the last swallow of her cup of coffee and set it down on the counter to hug her mother. "It'll be fine Mom. You and Oscar have thought of everything." Kate re-filled her cup and took her time with this one.

"Here's your omelet, bacon, toast, and the juice is in the refrigerator. I suppose you're going into work today," Johanna commented as she started another omelet. "I don't have a choice Mom, we're short three deputies and one civilian. I'd like at least one or two more deputies but we're expecting a reduction in funding next year, so I might as well get used to it now instead of have to lay people off when it happens," Kate told her. "Yeah, that's one of the things that has me worried. My high school kids will go away to college like they should and I'll have to find replacements. And what if I hired the wrong people?" Johanna was rapidly headed off a cliff and Kate knew it. "Mom, will you relax!? Those people want these jobs so they're going to do the best they can." Kate tried to get her to calm down.

"Have you seen Rick?" Kate changed the subject. "He left early this morning. He said he had to go get something and that you would understand," Johanna said to her just as all of the dogs came rushing into the kitchen. Midas and Maggie sat there waiting for their breakfast while Patch and Thor had no such patience. Johanna put the omelet on a plate. "That's for Oscar when he shows up. I'm going to feed the dogs then put Alexis in the tub. If I don't see you before you leave have a good day at work." Johanna kissed her cheek, fed the dogs, and went upstairs. Midas and Maggie all but inhaled their breakfast and almost beat Johanna into Alexis's room.

Kate dragged herself back upstairs to shower and get dressed for the day, smiling all the way. She couldn't wait to see what Rick got her for her engagement ring knowing that she had said yes last night.

About 45 minutes later she stopped to have her evidence and samples packaged up safely and shipped to a lab she had used while working at the 12th precinct. Who the state sent theirs to was their problem. When she showed up at work she was immediately informed by Sloan that a Colonel Pike had called last night and asked who they sent their evidence to for analysis and Matt answered his question. "Excellent, thanks Sloan. Carry on." Kate went into her office and started making phone calls to see what it would take to get a K-9 unit.

A couple of phone calls later and she had someone coming out next week for an interview about moving here about when Greta was scheduled to show up. Once again getting new cars appeared to be a selling point. Everyone just had to put up with what they had now for 3 months.

It was almost lunch when Elizabeth knocked on her door. "There's an Amber Patinelli here to see about the part time position. She says the mayor sent her," Elizabeth told her. "Send her in," Kate said. The name Amber was a name she knew from somewhere but she just couldn't think where. The woman walked in. "Kate!?" Amber was a little shocked. "Amber!?" Kate suddenly realized where she had heard the name from. She was Samantha's mother! Kate got out from behind her desk and sat down in the chair next to her. "I knew I had heard that name somewhere!"

"I knew you were a deputy but I didn't know you were the sheriff," Amber admitted. "Acting sheriff until the mayor can call for an election," she corrected her. "I'm sure you'll win easily when you run for sheriff." Kate already had her vote. "Thanks, so you're here for a job." Kate got down to business. "Yes, my son was hired to work in the new restaurant opening tomorrow; he's so excited and so are his father and I. Money has been tight the last few years. My husband used to be one of the best auto mechanics in town until he hurt his hand and now he can barely hold a glass of water in it. He drives a delivery truck these days, but it doesn't come close to paying what he used to earn. I'd really like this job." Amber was running out of places to apply.

"I'm only hiring part-time I'm afraid. I need someone to work the night shift, meaning you would be here from midnight to six when the day shift reports in. You would be doing any number of things while you're here: helping with dispatch, helping with 911 calls, helping with filing, amongst other things," Kate said. "I've never worked in a sheriff's office before so I don't know much about dispatch and haven't worked 911 calls. Everything else would be easy enough though," Amber told her. "To be honest I didn't expect to find someone who had experience in either. The other women will teach you dispatch and how to handle 911 calls. We wouldn't throw you into the pool and pray you knew how to swim. You'll get at least 2 weeks of training before you're left on your own, though there will be a deputy and/or me here at all times," she told her.

"Does that mean I get the job?" Amber sounded so hopeful, like this was her last chance. Kate loved seeing the smile on Samantha's face and she hadn't known her mother had hired Amber's son. "Bring your daughter with you tomorrow; you can fill out your paperwork and I'll get you a key to the door. We'll get the other women to start your training tomorrow. If for some reason you need to bring Sam into work with you at night just remember to keep her away from whoever comes in here and not to touch anything she shouldn't," Kate told her watching her erupt into a large smile. "I won't let you down, I promise! You and Rick have been so very kind to Sam; she's been gushing ever since she came back from the trip she took," Amber admitted. "We just don't have the money to take her or our son anyplace, not like we would like to do."

"She's been a joy to have around and I know Alexis is happy to have made some friends after moving here. I heard about the bears, that was very unexpected," Kate commented. "It was a bit scary, but Sam has been talking about how Rick did this and did that," Amber said. "I know he's already started research on where to go next," Kate told her. "You two seem to be quite close," Amber remarked. "He proposed last night. It was so sweet and was just what I needed to hear at the time. He's off to Rapid City to purchase a ring, I think. He was gone when I got up in this morning," she informed her. "I'm very happy for you. He's such a nice man. I'd love to live in his home." Amber was like everyone else in town. They all loved his home, just like Kate's mom did.

"Rick is amazing, I love him so much," she admitted. "And he's not worried about you being a deputy or sheriff?" Amber questioned. Kate actually chuckled. "I hadn't even gotten the job as deputy yet and he was already pushing me to run for sheriff," she said. She stood up. "I'll have someone put the paperwork together that you need to read and sign. I'm assuming you can start tomorrow after you sign?" she asked her.

"If I can bring Sam with me, that won't be a problem," Amber answered her question. "I'll talk with Rick when he gets back, he might be willing to watch Sam for you while you're both working. What about your son?" Kate queried. "He's 18 as of last month and spends his time with my husband when he's not at school which is out for summer. We've worked out that my husband will pick him up at the restaurant when it closes and take him to work with him. And you don't need to ask Rick anything. We can work out something," Amber told her. "Do what you think is best but I'm still going to ask him. We have a spare bedroom that no one is really using." Except for Oscar and/or her mother, though they will be moving back home now.

Amber grinned at her. "You said 'we,'" she pointed out. Kate chuckled. "I did, didn't I? His house does feel like home to me even if I haven't actually moved in yet." She knew almost all of her clothes were still at home. Amber hugged her quickly. "I'm still happy for you, Rick is a good man." Kate escorted her to the front door. Closing it, she said, "I just hired a part-time night shift worker. Put all the paperwork together that she'll need to read and sign by tomorrow. She's going to start tomorrow evening. Start teaching her dispatch and 911 calls. If neither of those work out for her, we'll be forced to find someone else."

"Yes, ma'am." The women loved having someone else here. It meant it would take pressure off of them soon.

Kate was walking in with her lunch which was another sub, chips, and soda. "Ma'am, Greta called. She's given the movers the address of her new place here and has begun packing. She said she would meet the truck when it got here, get it all moved into her apartment and be in to start work the day after finding daycare for her daughter," Kate was told. "Finally, we really need her. I forgot to ask how old her daughter is." She internally kicked herself. "She's 4 ma'am," she was told. "Maybe another new friend for Alexis. It was only a two year difference." Kate was hopeful anyway and went into her office. She was learning fast just how much paperwork Roy did after she sat behind this desk.

' _Hey babe, where are you?"_ She couldn't take it any longer, she needed to know if he had bought her ring yet. _'Still in Rapid City. Do you need something while I'm here?'_ Rick was smiling widely even though she couldn't see it. He was eating lunch while her ring was being sized for her. _'Just my fiancé_ _,_ _"_ she commented.

' _Oh_ _,_ _I just hired Samantha's mother to work part time for the night shift. She needs to find someplace for Samantha to stay the night sometimes and I volunteered_ _us_ _. I hope you don't mind.'_ She didn't think he would, especially since it was too late now. _'I didn't know my fiancé was such a softy.'_ Kate could hear him chuckling at her. _'And of course I don't mind. I'd be willing to bet Alexis would even share her room if she had a voice_ _in the decision_ _. Not that she does since we have a spare room_ _w_ _hich is something we need to talk about when I get back_ _,_ _'_ he told her. It had Kate smiling widely as her heartbeat increased. He was going to ask her to move in with him, she just knew it! She also knew what her response would be, too. At least he'd better be thinking about asking her or she was going to hurt him. She was his life mate after all.

Rick had chosen a ring that he thought she would like since his choices were limited with only three jewelry stores in town. It was round, excellent cut, H in color, and VVs1 in clarity. The center diamond was 2.11 carats with a single diamond to either side that were 0.12 carat weight each. It was 18k rose gold in an Aphrodite setting. The total price was something well within his range.

Kate planned to spend a lot of time in the office and sent Sloan out on patrol. She would handle any emergency calls that came in herself since they were still shorthanded.

Later that night she dragged herself up the stairs and found her mother and Oscar gone. Midas and Maggie were sleeping in Alexis's room and lifted up their heads to look at her when she slipped into the room to stroke her hair and kiss her head.

He was fast asleep and she didn't see a ring box anywhere which meant he was probably hiding it somewhere. She spent a whole entire second about thinking of looking for it but got ready for bed and slipped on one of Rick's dress shirts that she had stolen. She cuddled in close to Rick and was asleep in seconds.

He was gone again when she got up and shuffled downstairs. She found a note telling her that her breakfast was in the warmer. Coffee should be ready for her. He and Alexis would be with Johanna and Oscar helping her get ready for her grand opening tonight.

She groaned. She had to work and was going to miss her own mother's opening night. After all they had been through and she was going to miss it.

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"Okay, let's get started. My name is Oscar Lehman and it has been my privilege to help Johanna in her quest to open a new restaurant here in town. As most of you likely know this used to be a Wendys® fast food restaurant. You wouldn't know it looking at it today. Before we open tonight we're going to have a wet run instead of dry run. By this I mean we have some locals who have graciously offered their time to be guests. They are going to go outside and come in one group at a time."

"You two are going to seat them and keep track of where you seat them. The idea is that you do not place them all in one person's area but spread them out a little. Our wait staff will be using the latest in devices to take their orders with. This little beauty," and Oscar held one up as he continued, "is connected to the central system. There is one display at the front desk and one at the back. It is at these two places that you will retrieve a printed receipt for the meal should the customer desire one." It bore some resemblance to a laptop though it was fatter and had a light pen attached.

"The very first thing you do is enter your ID number followed by the table number. This device is broken down into areas: appetizers, entrees, soups, salads, and desserts. As they order and you press that place on the tablet it will bring up a picture and provide you with everything there is to know about that item. So if they ask you questions, you can read what it says and tell them. When you are done taking that table's order you will press the end button here," Oscar held it up for everyone to see. "There is also a space for you to type in specific instructions."

"Doing this will send the order to the read-out panels in the kitchen. The cooks will start work on each meal as they come in since they will be grouped by table. Payment is equally simple. You will scan their credit card like this." And Oscar slid a card to demonstrate. "You will then hand the card back to the person or persons if they want separate bills; I'll show you that later. You then hand them your pad and they'll use the pen that is attached to sign. They can scroll up and down to view what they are paying for and what they were charged for each meal. At this time they can add a tip as desired. Each customer will be offered three options: 15%, 20%, and to enter their own amount before signing."

"If they pay by cash, there are cash drawers at each of the two stations, up front and the one in back. As the cooks finish each meal they will place it on the pick-up table and once the table's meals are complete they will delete it from the screen. However that table's meals will be held in memory for 30 days or until space is needed in the system."

"All of this helps Johanna keep track of how much food she has and needs to order based on who orders what. Yesterday's and today's deliveries have already been placed in the system and she will have to do this for each and every delivery for food items. At the end of the day today after everyone is gone she will still be here, as will I, to determine what needs to be delivered tomorrow or the day after depending on what it is she needs."

"Now accidents are inevitable. Some of you will drop someone's entire meal on the floor or their lap." That caused a few chuckles. "Or the meals for an entire table. There will be a crashing sound as plates break and everyone including the customers will say something. Don't worry about it, you're not going to be fired unless that was your 8th or more time. In that case you may want to start searching for another job. Simply offer him, her, or them your most heartfelt apology and inform the kitchen that they need to do it all over again," Oscar informed them. "As well as clean up your mess." He got a few more chuckles.

"As I'm sure all of you know by now employees get a 50% discount on one meal of your choice per week. If you choose to eat it here it will be after closing hours or you can put it in a doggie box and take it home with you. Your choice. This is in addition to your pay and tips; do try to make use of it. You will find later that not every restaurant offers this." Johanna and Oscar had no illusions that if they took it home with them the meal would likely not be eaten by the employee, but they would handle that when the time came.

"Now if our guests would like to step outside and come in one group at a time, let's see if we can work out the bugs and get used to this system," Oscar said which got them outside and the cooks into the kitchen with the wait staff hanging around in the service aisle while the two receptionists went forward.

Samantha and her parents turned out to be first and a table was selected for the three of them. They were handed over to their son who was a waiter here. Jenny and her parents were next, followed by Paige and her parents, and then Sara and her parents. Last were Rick and Alexis since Kate was working. "All of the tables are taken. Put them in the queue and hand them a call box," Oscar instructed them, even though there were lots of empty tables. "Let them sit about 5 minutes and then send the signal that their table is ready," he told them and headed for the kitchen.

The first table's orders came up on the screen and Oscar watched the cooks begin work, followed by another and another, until even Rick and Alexis's requests were in the system. "Don't forget to talk to each other, especially to Johanna who has control back here. She is the one that will be deleting the tables from the screen as each is finished. She, and I, want to hear a time table. Five minutes for this or three minutes for that. Johanna, for her part, will do the same and call out when a table is off the screen. When you as a group stop talking to each other is when things go straight to hell back here," he warned all of them.

Since they had more wait staff than customers, those who had customers got help delivering the plates filled with food. Since all of the meals were free they faked running the credit card or acted like they were paid in cash and faked getting a receipt for the meal. The hostesses put each table as being open when the table was cleared and the dishwashers finally had something to do.

Oscar had everyone including their guests back in the main room. "Not bad for a bunch of rookies." He didn't see anything that needed to be corrected. "Now for the bad news or good news in Johanna's case. In 30 minutes those doors are going to open for real and I can already see people standing outside waiting to get in. This was only 5 tables and there are 42 tables total that, if we're lucky, are going to be filled until closing tonight. More people means more money, means more tips, means you get to keep your jobs. Hopefully for a long time."

"Now when this place is full it is going to get louder as people at their tables will start talking. Just relax, stay calm, and take your time. None of you have super human speed and except for the customer, none of us expect you to have either. A word of caution. The general public as a whole are ass-holes, myself included. Mindless, thoughtless, ill-tempered ass-holes and they will direct their anger at you." Oscar pointed to the wait staff. "Don't get mad, don't get physical. Take the blame and try and correct whatever his or her completely outrageous problem is. Just remember, if you piss him off too much it means no tip, he doesn't come back, business slows, and you lose your job. Johanna loses her business and the city loses another business that pays city taxes that pay for countless things that you don't even think about and take for granted."

"Your house burns down because the city couldn't afford to pay for enough fire fighters, and that's just the most obvious example. You're mad that the city doesn't fix that blasted pot hole that has only gotten bigger and deeper. Taxes pay to fix that pothole, so the more businesses there are the more taxes the city collects and the more things the city can do with that money."

"Twenty minutes, so clean up and take your places, and to our guests, Johanna and I thank you for your willingness to be guinea pigs," Oscar said. "We were glad to help, besides the food was terrific. Better than my wife cooks," a male voice called out followed quickly by "OW!" which was followed by laughter.

The doors opened at 5:00 pm and closed officially at 12:00 am, however they still had people at a dozen tables to wait for. It wasn't until 1:00 am that the doors were closed and locked. Five of the staff took advantage of the half off meal for this week and were serving themselves and eating at the largest table while they talked. By 2:00 am Johanna was sitting in her office, that was smaller than her walk-in closet at home, with Oscar standing right behind her. They were the only 2 people left in the building.

The cash was in the safe in the floor of her office and they were going over what was sold and what they still had which allowed Johanna to phone in a delivery for tomorrow from Rapid City. The total proceeds for the day was $11, 831.46. "That doesn't seem like a lot." Johanna's worries only grew. "Get out your calculator and put in today's proceeds times 308, which is the number of days you will be open each year. And that equals what?" he asked her.

$3,644,089.70

"Which puts you above the target of $3.5 million annually." He hugged her shoulders from behind and kissed the top of her head. "Likely you will not keep this up for an entire year, but if you even come close you'll be really close to our target earnings annually."

"Did you get to see the fireworks?" he asked knowing that he had not, only to watch Johanna shake her head. "Yeah, neither did I. But Rick said that combined with the fireworks the city shot off, it was the largest display the city had ever had in its history. We may need to think about expanding who wins since football and basketball don't fill the summer with any games. We may need to add someone like women's soccer perhaps," he suggested. "We'll talk about it." Johanna wanted to look at the schools schedule first.

"Let's gather up the dirty table cloths and linens, take them home, and throw them in the washer for tomorrow," Oscar offered followed by turning out all but the emergency lights, setting the alarm, and locking up for the night. "How did we really do?" Johanna questioned him as she drove them home. "Honestly? …Your kitchen was too slow. The last tables seated sat there for almost an hour and you stayed there all night long. One table would empty and the new people waited an hour to get their food. We need to talk with your cooks about how to speed that up by at least 5 or 10 minutes or it's going to cost you customers eventually."

"You're new and people were willing to cut you some slack. That first bus shows up with 50 people on board and they wait an hour or more…" He simply shook his head. "It didn't feel like an hour. I've never done so much cooking at one time in my life," she said wearily. Johanna didn't see where they were going to get that 5 or 10 minutes from. "We'll talk, I've got a couple of tricks I've learned over the years," he told her.


	51. Chapter 51

**CH51**

Kate was sitting at her desk when she heard the door open. She had been expecting him all day. Now it was after lunch and she had skipped it since she was too wired waiting for him to show up. She watched him walk in dressed in casual clothes,something she didn't think she had ever seen him in before. " **LT!** "She was up and out of her office to shake his hand, get him into her office, then sit down with him. "Did you get to see much on your way in?" Kate asked him. "Some, everything is so much smaller out here. The airport in Rapid City was tiny." Kate softly chuckled. Everything was smaller compared to New York.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that what would cost you 10 million on the top floor will cost you less than a grand per month here." Kate knew housing costs here were a selling point. "Meaning no more roommates," LT mentioned, since he had two of them. It was how people could afford to live and work in Manhattan or even outside of it. She nodded. "The food you buy is yours and doesn't get taken by a roommate. You don't have to worry if one of your roommates doesn't or can't pay their part of the rent." Kate remembered those days when she had first moved out of her parents' home.

"I've met someone back in New York." LT was hopeful but it was so new he didn't know what to do. "That's great!" Kate didn't remember him being with anyone, not that she was very nosy about other people's private lives. "Ask her if she's willing to move with you. I don't have a job for her. I filled one of my openings yesterday and she's due to come in in a few hours to start her training. I don't know what the job options are like here."

"You know how far it is from here to Rapid City which is the closest large city." Kate meant commuting between the two cities. "Mom opened a new restaurant but she is completely hired. I don't know what the single life is like here either." Kate had gotten lucky that Rick was right across the street from her. He was as far as she had gotten into the single life in Newcastle.

"Let me get my keys and I can show you around a little so you can get a handle on the town. Unlike New York City you will be covering the entire county so you are, I suppose, not restricted to living in Newcastle. If you want to live out in the middle of nowhere you could." Kate got her keys out of the drawer and put her service weapon in her holster. "I'm going to show LT around a little. Call me if you need me," Kate told the people in the office. "Oh, and if Amber shows up while I'm gone give her the paperwork to read, have her sign it, and start her training. I'll be back in about an hour," she informed them and walked outside with LT.

She had left the list of places he might be interested in checking out in her Jeep. Once they got in, Kate handed it to him. She drove him around town and told him what he could expect in terms of places to eat, what to expect during winter. For about three months he would be driving one of the pieces of junk her office had until the new cars, which were already on order, got here. So long as he used the car for work the office would pay for the gas he used. If he used it for personal trips he was asked to keep track of those miles since he would need to pay for his own gas. Since LT didn't own a car giving where he lived, it meant he didn't need money to purchase his own car.

"Think it over LT and let me know if you have questions. I know the pay here is less than in New York, but your money goes a lot further here. Talk with your lady friend and make a decision. I want you LT. I think you would be good out here. But what you want in your future is up to you to decide."

"I don't have separate Robbery, Vice, Homicide, or Gangs here like the 12th has. But I also don't have gangs like New York has either. No drive-by shootings, no hookers standing on street corners, no drugs being sold on the other street corners. If you're thinking of having a family there are fewer options for your kids to get into trouble. They won't become gang members or get beaten up in school. How long are you here?" Kate asked him as they walked into her office. "I'm here today and tomorrow then I fly back the day after," LT told her. "Well, get out there and drive around. Find someplace to eat. Talk to people, they won't bite your head off here. This is a small town of a little under 4,000 people and a little over 7,000 in the whole county."

"You'll start learning the names of everyone who lives here and they'll know yours," she told him, warning him that living here was not downtown Manhattan. "Thanks Beckett I appreciate the offer. Let me look around and I'll get back to you before the end of next week. I have someone I need to talk to first," LT told her. "Does she know you're out here?" Kate questioned. Keeping secrets was not a good first start in a relationship. "Yeah, she does. I'm not sure what she thought of it though." LT and she had a lot to talk about. "I don't know where you are in your relationship with her, but give her a chance. She might surprise you." Kate shook his hand and watched him leave.

"What did he say?" Elizabeth stood in her doorway. "LT has a girlfriend. I got the feeling her moving with him might be a hard sell, especially if she doesn't have a job waiting for her here," Kate admitted. Elizabeth nodded. "Sitting at home in a small town can be hard to take, it's definitely not for everyone." Elizabeth went back to her desk.

LT drove around a lot and went into the grocery store and the only liquor store in town. Found the Pizza Barn and then found T&A Brewing Company. Going inside he found it was a bar and grill so he decided to stay and have a beer while ordering his dinner for the day. He ordered a Mexican pizza and had a hard time selecting a beer to choose from. He was amazed at the back wall of the bar area which was completely filled with draft dispensers. "It's only going to get harder to choose from when we start making our own brew," his waitress told him. That got LT to sit up straight. "When's that going to happen?" he questioned. "The addition to the building is already underway out back, after that I don't know. Maybe by New Year's would be my guess," she offered. "Any chance I could talk to the owner about it?" LT asked. "Sure, let me put your order in and I'll ask Robert if he has time." She walked away.

LT got his pizza and his beer of choice both of which he was liking when a guy sat down. "I'm Robert. I was told you wanted to talk about the expansion?" Robert said."Well, more about your plan on making your own brew. I work at the 12th precinct in New York City and a homicide detective I used to work with there is now your county sheriff and she's offering me a job out here," LT began to explain.

"I've heard about her though I didn't know she used to be a homicide detective. And she's only the temporary sheriff until a new one is elected," Robert corrected him. LT didn't remember Kate saying anything about that, but if he knew Kate, she would be running for sheriff and would probably end up being his boss, which was a plus. Though he didn't know what he would think if she lost and he took the job because of her.

"I have a girlfriend and I don't know what she's going to think about moving out here with me. I'm not sure we're that far along in our relationship. However she's one of the brewers at Six Point Brewery in New York. Red Hook-brewed lineup or Mad Scientist one-offs and seasonal crushers. It's where I met her and finally screwed up the courage to ask her out," LT explained.

"I'm not ready to hire anyone just yet," Robert told him. "A brewer huh? Familiar with a micro-brew. I could use someone like that. Let me see if I can get some of their beer out here and sample it. Leave me her contact information and if I like it we can talk. The expansion should be complete by Thanksgiving while the brewing equipment should be installed a month later. I'm hoping to have the first batch available for sale by New Year's." Robert was non-committal but it gave LT something to work with. Now was she willing to leave one micro-brew and start up another way out here? And was he willing to move way out here without knowing if Kate would remain his boss. "Hell, I don't know if Montgomery is going to remain my boss." For all LT knew Montgomery may take or apply for a new job higher up the NYPD ladder and leave them all with a new captain.

Robert found out later that Six Point Brewery had a number of beers. Sweet Action, Bengali, The Crisp, Resin, Little Raspy, Bark Red Ale, Pound for Pound, Righteous Ale, Brownstone, Little Buzz, Incredible Mild, Oyster Stout, and he hadn't even gotten to the Mad Scientist Series yet or Beer for Beasts. And then there were the series that were no longer offered. If she was involved in even half of these, she may be better than he was. It had him rethinking what he wanted to do. Perhaps if he offered her 50% of the business maybe they would grow bigger than he ever thought. It had him on his computer to start crafting an option that she might be interested in. He already had the brewing equipment on order, he just needed for his expansion to be completed and have the equipment installed. If she went for this it would reduce his financial risks if he had a 50-50 partner.

Distribution was the major obstacle for every micro-brew. The big beers like Bud, Miller and Coors had control over all most all of the distributors. It was their way of trying to keep their percentage of the beer market. However a lot of micro-beers had found a way around that so he had high hopes. It was why the big beers were starting to fight back by offering more than just their standard beers and lite beers. Maybe she knew something he didn't. It had him smiling at his good fortune that LT happened by. He was definitely voting for Kate as the new sheriff. Hell, he might even donate money to her campaign when the time came.

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Four days later LT was talking with his girlfriend about his job offer in Newcastle, WY. "I even found a house you might like," he told her and showed her the listing complete with pictures.

 _ **248 Salt Creek Road, Newcastle, Wyoming**_ _. 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 3,908 square feet of space. Log home on the top floor, block on the first floor, 2 car garage, pass through fireplace on 120 acres of land. $509,000._

"I met a guy who is starting up a micro-brew and was interested in talking with you," LT mentioned. "This is easily a 2 million dollar home Tee." She didn't believe it. "That was one thing Beckett told me about living out there. Housing was a lot less costly," LT said."It doesn't have air conditioning." She pointed out a potential flaw in this home. "It's Wyoming, it gets cold there. If it gets too hot we can have window units installed in the rooms we want them in like the master bedroom."

"Beckett has ordered new cars for the office. 2001 Dodge Intrepids, Durangos, and PT-Cruisers. We'll get one of those. We would just have to keep track of when we used it for personal use and when I used it for business," LT offered. It still meant they would need a car for her to use just to get into town, however it meant they didn't need to buy two of them. And hers could be a used car. "Are you taking the job?" she finally asked him. "Montgomery warned us that next year's budget would be a lot smaller. It might mean I won't have a job the beginning of next year. I'm not asking you to follow me out there if I go. I'm only asking you to think about it. Talk to the brewery guy, see what he has planned. I know how much you like your job, but that's all it is is a job. You've put your soul into that place and except for a paycheck you have nothing to show for it. You deserve better. You're way too smart to settle for a paycheck each month." LT tried to get her to see what her job really was, even if she did love what she was doing.

"Wait for the guy to call and talk with you. I'm willing to go and willing to stay and take my chances. If we move, the place will be ours and you don't have to put up with my roommates when you come over," LT informed her knowing that she made more money than he did and likely still would, which was why she lived alone in her apartment.

They would own instead of rent. There was just one question both of them really needed to answer. Were they going to be more or go their separate ways? Each knew they liked the other, but did they love the other and would they ever?

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Kate had someone coming out to talk about the K-9 unit job and she had just gotten off the phone arranging to have one of the PT-Cruisers converted into a K-9 unit by putting in a barrier between the front seats and the back for the dog. She had just hung up and it was getting late when Amber and Samantha walked in the door with a backpack that Kate didn't recognize on Samantha's back. She was up and out of her office. "Hi Sam." Kate was pleased to see her and hugged her quickly. "Hi Kate." Samantha was happy to see her.

"Ready to get started?" Kate looked at Amber. "Rebecca has all of your paperwork for you to look over and sign. She's also going to be your instructor for the next two weeks. Deputy Sloan is presently assigned the night shift. Once Greta starts and especially if LT decides to join us that may change eventually. Though Sloan needs a couple of days off." Kate really needed Greta to get here so he could get those nights and days off.

"I really want to thank you for this opportunity." Amber was still incredibly thankful. "You're welcome. Learn what Rebecca has to teach you and we'll get along fine," Kate told her and bent down to talk to Samantha. "Are you spending the night here or coming with me?" Kate asked her and Sam looked up at her mother. "Your choice honey. You have everything you need in your new backpack," Amber told her. "Can I go with you?" Sam asked softly looking at Kate. "Of course. Alexis is probably in bed asleep which is where you should be this late in the day," Kate informed her that seeing Alexis would not take place tonight.

"Is it alright if we do this nightly each night I work?" Amber really did want her daughter close to her, but sleeping here without even so much as a sofa would be uncomfortable for her. "I've already talked with Rick, we're good to go. I'll bring her with me in the morning and you can take her home," Kate said. Amber kneeled down. "You be a good girl and do what Kate and Rick tell you to do." She hugged her and kissed her forehead. This solved so many problems for her. "I love you" Amber added and kissed her head. "I'll be good Mom," Sam promised. "Let's go Sam, we'll be back in the morning," Kate took Sam's hand and brought her out to her Jeep.

Once home they both found Midas and Maggie just inside the door; they took turns sniffing one than the other. Samantha was smiling as she petted the dogs. "Do you have a dog at home?" Kate asked her and watched her shake her head. Kate believed it since dogs cost money.

' _Babe?'_ Kate didn't see him. _'Be right up_ _,_ _'_ Rick told her which told Kate he was downstairs doing something. She waited for him to come upstairs. "Hi Sam!" Rick spotted her and moved in for a hug to help her feel better about sleeping there. "So you're going to start to be our new house guest?" he asked. "Hi Mr. Rodgers," Sam said a little shyly. "Well, Alexis is already in bed so let's show you your room for the night, shall we?" Rick followed Kate and Sam upstairs. "The bathroom is through that door and you'll share it with Alexis who has the bedroom right next to yours. Ours is just down that hall through the double doors. Midas and Maggie will keep you safe while you sleep. There isn't a bear alive brave enough to enter this house," Rick tried to reassure her. "Come downstairs for breakfast in the morning before Kate takes you back to your mother." He left her to Kate.

"Do you bathe in the morning or before bed?" Kate asked her. "Morning mostly," Sam replied. "So does Alexis. I guess we'll figure out something in the morning. Come find us if you have a nightmare or need something. You're perfectly safe up here." Kate kissed her cheek. "I'll be back to tuck you in in a bit. Put your clothes on the chair or in the dresser. This is now your room," she told her and went in search of Rick who was down in the kitchen.

"You're sure you're okay with this? I know I sprung this on you without asking you." She just knew she should have talked with him first when she found him snacking on some turkey sausage in one hand and a Honey beer in the other. "Trust me Kate. I'm not mad or upset at all. If I had known I would have offered it to you to ask her if she was interested. It's just a pity that Sam and Alexis will only see each other briefly in the morning before you take her back to her mother. The kids deserve a chance to play with each other." Rick hated that part.

"If it helps I think she's open to the idea of letting Sam come with us on our Labor Day trip. She just needs to know where we're going." Kate tried to soften the blow of her only spending her time sleeping here. "Are you coming on our trip? I know your mother can't since she has her restaurant to think about," he said asking her. That was a down side to her mother opening a restaurant. She really needed to be there to keep it running. "Greta is going to be here in about a week or so. If LT accepts he should be here before the end of the month. The same for my K-9 unit. That will bring me back up to a full staff so I'll be able to take some days off. I just don't know when the election process for sheriff is scheduled yet," she said to him.

"You'll win in a land slide, I'm sure of it." And Rick kissed her. Kate made a face. "You taste like sausage and beer. You better brush before coming to bed if you want any more kisses." Kate poked him lightly to accentuate her point. "Yes, dear," he teased. "And you call me 'dear' one more time and you're sleeping on the sofa." She poked him just a little harder this time. "Got it," he told her. "I'm going to go check on Sam. You need to finish your snack and go brush your teeth and gargle while you're in there, too," Kate warned him and headed for the stairs.

She walked into Alexis's room and found Midas sleeping on his bed but no Maggie. Still she went over to Alexis, stroked her hair, and kissed her head. "I wonder?" It was enough that Kate picked up Maggie's dog bed and went into the guest bedroom. She found Sam in bed already asleep with Maggie lying on the floor. So Kate dropped her bed on the floor and walked over to tuck Sam in and kissed her forehead and went to their bedroom.

"They're both sound asleep," Kate told him as she started stripping off her clothes. "She's such a sweet and shy little thing. Hopefully her mother catches on to what we do in the office. It sounds like their family could really use the money," she said to him as she slipped out of her pants and tossed them in the hamper along with her shirt.

"This isn't the richest county in the state. I partly chose this place because of that. I wanted to get away from everyone in New York. I couldn't have my publicist or publisher figuring out where I had gone," Rick explained as he walked out of the bathroom just in time to watch Kate remove her bra which had him stepping up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "When does your next book come out?" She leaned back into him and closed her eyes. "Not until Thanksgiving. I owe them two more books over the next 3 years and since I'm essentially a ghost writer I don't have to do any book signings or book launches, so no one in New York should figure out where I am." Rick started kissing her neck while moving his hands up to cup her breasts.

"Babe, I have an appointment with an OBGYN in Rapid City in two days. I want her to remove my IUD." She twisted in place so that she could press her face into his chest and breathe him in. "I'll order some condoms for us to use instead," he told her. She looked up at him. "I don't want us to use those either." Kate knew just what she was asking. She wondered if both of them were really ready, too?

Another thing to think about was that this house only had 3 bedrooms.


	52. Chapter 52

**CH52**

Serena landed at the Rapid City airport and powered down for a night's stay as she and Joanne tied the plane down. "I need to spend some time doing maintenance on the engines. Everyone has their satellite phones. We'll divide into four teams of three. You stay with us. Everyone else go into the terminal and rent three cars. I called in the Eagles on the way out here and made arrangements for them to watch the base and Pike's house. The Red-Tailed Hawks and the Turkey Vultures are too far away to help us on such short notice. Do not do anything. I want all three teams watching his house, two close and one long distance. I want to know as much as we can before we move in and take him either at his home or along the way in his car. Then we'll come back here and leave immediately. We wait," Serena told them and watched them leave to go rent cars. Meanwhile she put on some coveralls, got out her ladder, and began removing the cowling.

Four hours later she was cleaning up and taking off her coveralls. "The three teams have reported in every hour. Daniel and his eagles report that Pike hasn't been spotted on the base yet," Joanne told her. "Let's go rent a car and join the others. Don't forget the tablet, we need to stay in touch with the eagles," Serena said to Joanne. Forty-five minutes later Serena was in position as each team took turns watching and sleeping. Joanne was still awake when she got a signal from her pad. After listening she jostled Serena awake. "The eagles have reported that Pike has just left the base. He's driving his personal car, a Porsche Boxster S, with the top down." Joanne started smiling.

She couldn't believe their luck. Their best bet was to hit him while he was still in his car and not inside his house. And the idiot was driving with the top down! The sun had gone down coming up on half an hour ago but it was still warm enough to drive with the top down.

Serena pulled out her map and looked up the location of his house. It wasn't that far from the base which might be good for him but bad for them. "Right there, I'm betting there's a stop sign instead of a light signal. Signal the others and let them know I want one of our cars to stop in front of him and one behind him. The other two will take the cross streets on each side. Let's move." She sat up straight and started her car.

It turned out to be a light instead of a stop sign, however the car in front of him sat through the light with Pike honking at them. The car in front of him turned on the car's emergency lights and the driver got out and lifted up the hood. Pike cursed his luck then the car behind him honked which got his attention for a moment. Movement at the car in front of him caught his attention as the passenger got out and pointed a weapon at his car.

Pike had stopped too close behind the car in front of him to go around the car easily. He quickly put the car in reverse and shoved the accelerator to the floor, only to slam into the car behind him which gave him a jolt. What he didn't see was the passenger in the car behind him got out, pointed a weapon at him, and fired. The dart hit him in the back of the neck which got him to slap his hand over the stinging feeling.

The driver of the car behind him started backing up with his passenger still outside, while the one in front put the hood down after the person in the back seat moved to the passenger seat. The car at the rear saw headlights of a car coming their way so he continued backing up until he stopped far enough away from the Porsche.

The two with guns ran to the Porsche and pushed Pike over into the passenger seat while one of them hopped into the sports car; the other got back into the car in front. Those two cars took off leaving the car behind them to temporarily block the car that came up behind them and stopped. The driver then did a U-turn in the middle of the street while the passenger lifted up the large city map giving the impression that they were lost. By the time that car reached the light, which was red again, all of the other cars were long since gone with the car behind him disappearing into the distance.

They unloaded everyone except the drivers of their cars at the gate to their plane as they carried an unconscious Pike between two of them making it look like he had passed out from drinking too much. The drivers left their cars while one of them drove the Porsche away after having been tossed a gas container over the fence.

"Pike is secured to a space in back still unconscious. His car is being driven to the designated site. The eagles have indicated that the site is presently clear," Joanne informed her. "Let's go get our girl then." Serena ran down her check list as Joanne powered up her screens.

Serena was flying on the course she had requested from the tower when Joanne got a signal. She listened for a moment. "We have a problem. There's a police car chasing the Porsche. The eagles report that her rear tail lights are out, likely damage from when his car backed up into one of our cars," Joanne relayed what she was being told. "DAMN IT!" Serena tried to think just what she could do. "Satellite phone. Have her floor it out into an open field. Ask if she can light a fire that will hit the airplane fuel we gave her. Once lit I want her to shift into her mountain lion and make a run for it heading due south. We'll swing down and pick her up," she said and watched Joanne take out her satellite phone and make the call. "She acknowledges the request and will do her best," Joanne told her.

Serena twisted the plane by turning the nacelles into the vertical position which slowed her way down which got the attention of the tower. She pointed the plane south and headed that way until they both saw something on fire streaking away due east. Serena dipped way down low and raced south ignoring the calls from the tower. She had to guess just how far a mountain lion could run before she slowed the Osprey down to almost hovering and had Joanne lower the ramp.

Her friends in the back were watching carefully when one of them spotted her running flat out across the dirt and started waving her to keep running. Serena got the signal and tilted the rotors to start flying again and was picking up speed just as the big cat jumped into the arms of her friends while one of them slammed a hand on the button to close the ramp. She was undamaged and quickly shifted back into a human while someone grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. "Well, that was exciting," she said understatedly which had everyone laughing in relief.

Serena never did climb back up into the air where radar could track her. As far as the tower was concerned, she had crashed yet again. It took hours to get home and lock Pike up in his new room.

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Kate was sitting at her desk going over the recent expenditures trying to work out how much she had left in the budget for the rest of the year. She was worried that when winter came costs would go up. Speaking of costs, there had been a pair of men up on their roof looking it over. Now they were sitting in her office. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this but your roof is shot. We counted eight layers of roofing material. If you asked me I'd say that each time there was a problem they slapped down a new layer on top of the old and called it good. Code only allows a maximum of 3 layers. It's also a lot of weight for your roof to support and then when it snows it only adds still more weight. Personally i don't know why you don't have a waterfall in here when it rains."

"I've also noticed that the only insulation you have for the roof is the rigid insulation that is your roof. Out here that's way too thin. What I want to do is rip your roof down to the plywood roofing panels and replace any of those that are rotten as well as check the roof structure if I need to replace any of the supports."

"On top of that I want to put down SIP panels made by Ray Core. The maximum depth they make is 7.5-inches thick which will provide an R value of 50.7. The thin foil on top will act as the vapor barrier. Over that we'll put down OSB panels while staggering the seams. On top of that will be an ice shield that actually has a sticky backing to it. Over that will be the EDPM material which we are going to glue down in your case. EDPM is a very light and durable material meaning we would be less likely to add too much weight to your roof."

"The insulation you have now on the roof has an R value of 23.2. Also, if you want I can open up the walls and replace the fiberglass insulation then put in a wall version of the same SIP panels. Your 2x6 walls presently give you an R value of 19. Replacing the fiberglass with SIP panels will increase that to an R value of 42," he explained to Kate. "You'll reduce your heating and cooling costs by at least 40%. I would estimate you would recoup the costs for the roof alone in 3 years and another 3 years for the walls."

He and his partner had come from Casper, Wyoming to look over her building. "And the cost?" Everything all boiled down to cost even if she would make it back in 3 to 6 years. "The walls would be about $3 grand. Your roof is in the worst shape and would likely be around $8 to $10 grand. If I don't have to replace any structural members I could have the roof done in a few weeks with another couple of weeks for the walls. That wouldn't include new drywall and paint on your walls which would take another week and would be about another $2 grand." He provided Kate with a rough cost since he hadn't had time to get exact dimensions of the building.

"When can you start?" Kate asked him which had him on his phone talking with someone in Casper. "I've got a team finishing a project at the end of next week. Three days to move the trailers we would need here and make arrangements for housing. Say three weeks from today," he estimated. Thirty minutes later they were leaving with a signed contract along with a deposit for them to make arrangements to start work.

"We're going to get a new roof and new wall insulation. We're going to have to put up with some disruption while they work on the walls, but the roof won't leak anymore and it should be warmer in here during winter," Kate informed them which earned her hugs from some of the female civilians who had been working there for a few years. She went back into her office and made arrangements for someone to come out and look at their heating system which, according to the bills, used home heating oil to fire their boiler.

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"Let Pike stew. Don't feed him, don't give him water, and don't let him out for any reason - even if the building's on fire! Joanne and I will be back in a couple of days. We need to attend the selection of a new leader for the Kodiak Bear community since Hunt and his wife are permanently gone," Serena told the others.

They kept the tools and parts in the back of the plane just in case and set course for the backyard of Richard Rodgers, since Serena wanted to take him and his family with them.

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Kate woke up, rolled over, and found Rick was missing. The sheets were cool enough to tell her he had been gone for a little while. She groaned a little since she didn't like waking up alone anymore. Times had changed. "Just when did I become dependent on being in his arms?" she mused. "When I stopped being a homicide detective and found out what being in his arms could do, that's when," she said to herself, answering her own question. She got out of bed and shuffled down the hall, poking her head in each bedroom seeing that both of them were empty. Kate continued downstairs into the kitchen and found Alexis and Sam sitting at the table eating. Both were still in their pajamas.

"Hi babe." Kate walked up behind Rick, wrapped her arms around him from behind, then pressed her head into his back. "Hungry?" he asked her. His answer was her stomach growling. "Apparently," she answered sarcastically. "It's your metabolism, you need to eat more." He couldn't explain more with Sam sitting not that far away. "OH!?" She made a mental note to talk to him about that later. After all, her dragon _was_ pretty big.

She sat down next to Alexis who had Sam next to her. "How are you two? Did you know Sam would be spending the night with us?" she asked looking at Alexis who shook her head. "Well, unfortunately she's going into work with me and back to her mother," Kate gently informed her. Watching the reaction on Alexis's face broke her heart. "I'm sorry she can't stay longer sweetie. Her mother works with me and the others now, but only at night and Sam needs a place to sleep. So I offered to let her sleep here. Now she has to go home," Kate explained. "Okay," her soft little voice sadly agreed.

"Maybe I can talk her mother into letting her stay for a few hours and have Rick driver he home later." Kate offered, since it was the best she could do.

"That reminds me. I've got something for you to take with you Sam. I'll be right back," Rick announced and left his breakfast behind. He was soon back with some printed pages. "This is where I'm thinking of going for Labor Day which is in a little under two months from now. Put these in your backpack and give them to your mom. Just like last time it will be 3 days and 2 nights." He handed them to her. "Oh, this is the paper your mom needs to sign just like last time allowing you to go. She can sign it and give it to Kate who will bring it home." He gave her two more pieces of paper, the second being a release form for emergency medical treatment. He hoped never to have to use it, but it was a good thing to be prepared.

Kate put Sam in the tub first since she would be going into work with her. Alexis could take a bath a little later while Kate was driving into work. "What are your plans?" she asked Rick while holding her arms around his neck. "A little writing followed by going over to your mother's to see if she needs help," he told her. "I hope Mom isn't in over her head." Kate was just a little worried. There was more to owning a restaurant then just cooking. "Not with Oscar around," he assured her.

"They've been kissing," Alexis piped up smiling. Kate turned her head to look at Alexis. She already knew they had kissed once, weeks ago. "A lot or just once?" she asked her. "A lot," Alexis replied, though to her anything over a couple of times was a lot.

"Oscar works in Manhattan and Mom isn't moving, certainly not now." She knew that much. So how was this going to work? "You're thinking pretty hard Kate." Rick could see the emotions playing across her face. "Dad's only been gone about 9 or 10 months and Mom must be missing him. I know I am," she told him. "I asked Oscar how long he was planning on staying this time," he said. "And?" Kate wanted an answer. "He said as long as it takes." He shared with her what Oscar had told him.

"Come with me, please?" Rick asked Kate and took her hand. "Pumpkin?" he called and Kate watched Alexis launch herself out of her chair running for all she was worth. Kate found herself being taken over to the wall of windows as the sun was just starting to rise.

They both heard tiny feet running back down the stairs as Kate watched Rick get down on one knee, which had her heart pounding. _'Yes, yes, yes!'_ her dragon chanted.

"I can't believe that I had to come all the way out here to meet a beautiful woman who is also so amazing. Out of all the women on the planet, I found the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know there's already something special between us, but you deserve to hear the words."

"Katherine Houghton Beckett, would you do me the honor of being my wife and mate for as long as we both shall live?" Rick asked her as Alexis held up the ring in her hands while she stood next to her dad grinning.

Even though she knew it was coming his words still had her in tears as she held both hands over her mouth and watched Alexis hold up her ring. She nodded as she held out her hand to Alexis who put the ring on Kate's finger for her dad as they had agreed earlier. Kate dropped to her knees, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him deeply. "I love you so very much," she told him and gave him a quick kiss. Then she switched to holding Alexis. "I love you, too, my brave little, …." Kate had to stop herself with Sam likely standing near.

"Kate, does this mean I can call you Mom now?" To Alexis Kate was already Mom; she was the only grown woman in Alexis's everyday life and she loved Kate with all of her heart. "Yes, my little, …. It means you can call me Mom now," she told her and kissed her forehead.

The sound of sniffling got her attention as she turned her head and saw Sam wiping away her tears with the backs of her hand. Kate held out an arm. "Come on sweetie, you can be our witness," she offered and Sam soon had Kate's arm around her as well as one of Rick's. Sam had never been so happy before in her life.

Kate kissed Rick at the door after he gave her a travel mug of coffee along with a bag that had her lunch in it, just in case something came up. She held Sam's hand and helped her get buckled into the booster seat in the back of her Jeep and drove them to work. "Mr. Rodgers is nice." Sam didn't know what else to say. Nice would just have to do. "Yes, he is. He's like no other man I've ever met," she said, agreeing with Sam. _'He's a Kodiak Bear!"_ her dragon sang out joyfully. Her dragon had hoped for someone powerful like another dragon when she became strong enough after Kate's dad had died, however a Kodiak Bear was more than good enough for her.

"Hi Mom!" Sam ran inside and slammed into her mother. "Hi honey, did you have a good time?" Amber asked her holding her tight and kissing her head. "Kate got married to Mr. Rodgers Mom!" Samantha was so excited. Her news got everyone's attention with heads turning her way. "Engaged honey, I got engaged to be married. I'm not married yet," Kate gently corrected her. _'Details, details_ _,_ _'_ her dragon grumbled. The women in the office took turns looking at her ring. "He certainly has good taste." Elizabeth loved it as did the others.

"So when's the wedding?" Elizabeth was way out front. "I've been engaged for less than an hour Elizabeth, give us a break," Kate said rolling her eyes. "There will be the pitter patter of little feet in no time. Ten bucks says she's pregnant before Christmas," Elizabeth wagered and started looking for her purse. "And throw away ten bucks? I'm not throwing away good money on a bet I can't win," one of the women countered.

"Mommy, Mommy," Sam called, very excited. She took off her backpack and opened it to pull out the papers Rick had given her and handed them to her mother. "Can I go please? Pretty please?" she begged. "It's Rick's tentative idea on where to go on Labor Day," Kate explained.

 _ **Gulches of Fun.**_ _225 Cliff Street, South Hwy. 85. Deadwood, SD. Go Karts, Bumper Boats, Miniature Golf, Train Rides, Bounce House_ _,_ _and Arcade Games as well as a Casino._

 _ **Deadwood KOA**_ _, Back in, full hookups, 30 AMP, Cable and Wifi. Complete with concrete patio. BBQ grill available for rental._ Two side by side spaces reserved for 3 days over Labor Day.

 _Pan for gold in_ _ **Broken Boot Gold M**_ _ **i**_ _ **ne Tour**_ _,_ _ **Deadwood Model Train**_ _complete with a City with exquisite detail and working miniature trains._

"Can I go Mom? …Please?" Amber was taking too long to answer for Sam's liking. "You cannot go into a casino and your father has to say yes," Amber told her. " **YES!** " Sam launched herself at her mom and got a hug. "Thanks Mom!" It had Amber blinking back tears. She couldn't remember seeing her baby this happy in a long time and she had Rick and her new boss to thank for it. Samantha turned to Kate. "Can I go?" She had forgotten to ask Kate and Rick if she could go. "Weellll, … I suppose. You'll have to help me convince Rick that you should, though," Kate teased which had the little girl dancing in place. She already knew Rick was an easy mark.


	53. Chapter 53

**CH53**

Serena landed in Rick's back yard just like last time with little trouble then shut everything down. Joanne was starting to suit up and grab a weapon. "You aren't going to need that here. However in the Kodiak community it might be a good idea," Serena said, stopping Joanne from arming herself as she started walking down the ramp headed for Rick's house.

When they reached the wall of windows in the basement that lead outside they found that the glass had been replaced. "Hayley said the glass was almost completely shattered in the attack," Joanne pointed out. "Looks like Rick has had the windows replaced and I don't see a doorbell," Serena said which had them walking around the side to get to the front door.

After repeatedly leaning on the doorbell Joanne commented, "Apparently no one's home." Serena began walking back around the house. "Are we leaving?" Joanne asked as she followed her. "Not without Rick, no, but I might as well have some fun while I wait," she grinned. Joanne followed her back around the house and watched her climb up the steps and slide down one of the slides of Alexis's playet, only to do it again and again before finally switching to one of the swings which was where Joanne joined her.

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Rick knocked and Oscar answered the door. With the door open Midas and Maggie darted in. Playing in the house with Patch and Thor was definitely on. "We came over to see if you needed any help," Rick informed him. "I can't think of anything, but you can come in," Oscar said as he opened the door wide. "Is that man code for we should never have come over in the first place?" Rick asked amiably while still standing outside though Alexis and the dogs were already inside.

"Jo's in the shower," he told Rick. "ALEXIS! Time to go, we need to go see Kate," Rick yelled which had her come running with Midas and Maggie right behind her. "We're going to go see Mom?" Alexis went out the door to get back in the truck. "Mom?" Oscar asked with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Long story, maybe tonight after the restaurant closes?" Rick suggested smiling. "Or not." He took the hint Oscar was giving him. "Midas, Maggie say goodbye to Patch and Thor and let's go," he said and hustled them out to the truck. Oscar closed the door and smiled now that he had all day to work on Johanna's wall.

Rick wasn't quite sure what to make of that quick trip but he wished his friend luck. "You've certainly got your work cut out for…you. What the he...!" He watched as a part plane and part helicopter that he had seen before literally flew over his head and landed somewhere near his house. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw Alexis sitting there with a big smile on her face. Rick held up both hands side by side and starting juggling them up and down. "Kate or Serena and whomever? Kate, my fiancée, or Serena who wants something? My life mate or Serena and her friends?" He looked in the mirror again and turned right onto US85. He turned up the radio and started rocking to whatever the stupid song that was playing was 'til he figured out what it was and turned the radio off.

Rick left the dogs in the truck and opened the door to let Alexis in who had never been in this building before though neither had he. "Where's Mom?" Alexis inquired of the first person she came across and got a hesitant hand pointing at Kate in her office. That had Alexis running just as Rick stepped inside and found all eyes on him which had him looking at his shirt and then turning around and checking to see if he felt a breeze before turning back around and smiling back. "Ladies, I'm just...I'm going to go that way," he pointed to where Alexis had gone.

Walking away didn't prevent him from hearing the whispers behind him. However he could hear "HI MOM!" as Alexis bounced into her office catching Kate by surprise. "ALEXIS!? How did you…" She looked out her windows to see Rick at the front door looking uncomfortable which had her chuckling at his expense. "We came to surprise you," Alexis announced as Kate lifted her up into her lap and held her close while she kissed her cheek. "I'm definitely surprised sweetie." Kate had only left her at home an hour or so ago.

"Hi babe," she greeted Rick as he entered her office. "So this is where you spend your time." He looked around. "Real exciting looking isn't it?" she said rhetorically, knowing that the entire building was anything but. "Oh, I don't know. Who's to say that there isn't a hidden button somewhere that lowers this entire room underground several levels into a secret government base filled with fancy technology that we got from aliens," he said gleefully, while trying not to give himself away.

"Aliens, a secret base? Yeah, don't I wish. And if I find that in your book, you're sleeping on the sofa for a week," she warned him remembering he wanted to write a book about her. "Well, you are a CIA spy after all," Rick countered grinning. "Righhhttt." She didn't believe a word of it and there was no way anyone else would either. It was a good thing she knew he wasn't serious. At least he'd better not be serious!

"So why the sudden visit?" Kate asked him as she hugged Alexis. "I spotted a very familiar plane...helicopter, whatever that thing is, landing in our backyard as I was leaving your mother's house about 20 minutes ago," he told her which was a shock to Kate. "What do they want?" she wondered aloud. He shrugged. "They're involved with you know who," he prompted her.

She sagged against Alexis. "Oh, crap." In an unintentional reflex she held Alexis just a little tighter. "We haven't done anything to them," she whispered. Kate just wanted Paladin to leave them alone. "I don't think it works that way," Rick reminded her gently. "Yeah, I know," she sighed. Kate knew he was right, but she could wish couldn't she? "What about Alexis?" she asked knowing that they were going to have to go find out what Serena wanted. "Your mother and Oscar are…busy," he told her being cryptic which had Kate looking at him funny. Just what did busy mean? Then she was looking at him with a shocked face. He didn't mean what she thought she did, did he?

"I think I know someone. How would you like to spend some time with Sam today while your dad and I go see someone?" Kate asked Alexis and watched her smile grow. Kate got on the phone and made arrangements to leave Alexis with Amber and a smiling Sam. "You be a good girl sweetie and do what Amber tells you to do." Kate kissed her head then walked to her Jeep and waved to all three of them with Rick right behind her. Amber was immediately on the phone calling in reinforcements and soon had Jenny and her mother at her place. The adults talked as the girls played.

Rick parked behind Kate and they, along with the dogs, entered the house. Looking out the wall of windows in the living room showed them that their guests were still there. Looking a little closer found them relaxing on the swings side by side.

"Okay, it's not Paladin," Kate said in relief since if it was those two wouldn't be so casual while not carrying weapons. Although she could see weapons that were hanging under the Osprey's wings. Even the ramp was still down as it sat there.

Kate and Rick walked out to them wondering what their visit was about. Joanne stopped and stood as soon as she spotted them, while Serena kept swinging gently. "Just visiting or is there a reason?" Kate inquired. "The Kodiak community will be starting the selection process for a new alpha today. Since I've been elected to be the lead protector of most of the shifter communities and families I thought I should attend. I was hoping Rick would come with us. You can come too if you wish. I want this selection to take place without interference and be recognized as being valid."

"With Jackson Hunt permanently gone it leaves a gap in the Kodiak Bear community hierarchy, something that can't remain that way for long," Serena informed them. "What's an alpha?" Kate asked, perplexed. "An alpha is the head of the clan or community. In this case, the new alpha will be the winner in the challenge for leader," Serena replied. "So we would be there just to watch and make sure no one cheats," Kate said simplifying what Serena was asking of them. "That about sums it up, yes. The number interested in the job will tell us how long we'll need to stay there," Serena added.

"What do you know about the selection process?" Serena asked looking at Rick. "Only what's written in the old books. My father has been absolute alpha for so long this hasn't been done for decades. I only know of one instance where he was challenged," he remarked. "What happened?" Kate asked being curious. "It was a bear fight between him and my father. The challenger was torn to pieces and was dead in less than a minute. It wasn't even close. The clan collectively learned a lesson; my father was never challenged again," he replied.

Serena was soon landing just outside of the mansion the new alpha would take possession of after he or she won. After dropping the ramp they were met by a number of people from the community. It was here that they learned a lot about today.

An hour later they reached the park where the decision would take place followed by final bout tomorrow. It was there that they found out there were four challengers, three men and one woman. Paul Finch, Andrea Fisher, Evan Hinkle, Brian Morris.

"Contenders front and center. My name is Serena Kaye and this is my mate Joanne Delgado. I was selected by a large number of other shifter communities and families to lead our concerted attempt to combat Paladin and what they hope to achieve. Simply put, Paladin wants the extermination of all shifters. We've had some recent successes and Paladin has taken some losses."

"I've been asked to verify the selection process here and make sure it's conducted fairly. I've brought Richard Rodgers and his mate with me. Richard, for those of you who don't know, is the son of Jackson Hunt and Martha Rodgers. Richard himself has no desire to be alpha, however he is also here to make sure this selection proceeds smoothly. The first two combatants are Paul Finch and Evan Hinkle," Serena called out and everyone watched as a human and a bear entered the area.

"You are limited to the park area; if you willingly exit the park you are disqualified. You will not be allowed to destroy any portion of the town. Who are each of you?" Serena informed them then asked a question. The human raised his hand. "Evan Hinkle."

"Indicate that you understand the limitations." Evan nodded. "Shift into a human and indicate you understand the limitations," Serena told Paul who didn't change. "Shift and indicate you understand the limitation or be disqualified," she warned him. "You have 30 seconds to comply." She held up her hand to look at her watch. Paul growled while staring at her. Joanne pulled the slide back on her weapon and put it on full auto. "Fifteen seconds," Serena called out. "Five seconds," she called out and readied her weapon just as Joanne had.

However Paul shifted into a naked human male and everyone heard the sounds of metal falling and hitting the blacktop of the parking lot where they all were assembled. One of the citizens walked over and picked up one of the metal pieces. "Metal claw attachments," he remarked disgustedly and tossed it to Serena who studied it. "Cheating is an automatic disqualification. The new alpha will determine if you are to be penalized or ejected from the community," she said coldly as everyone from town scowled and growled at him for his actions. He just became a pariah. He walked away but was really crawling inside. His family members had expected it of him or worse. They were ashamed that he had been caught, not that he had tried to cheat.

"Brian Morris, step forward." And those gathered watched him walk up as a human. "Do you understand the limitations you are to work with?" Brian nodded. "If any of you are helped by anyone in the community you will be disqualified and the new alpha will decide your fate," Serena said, giving one last warning. "Strip and begin at my signal," she ordered. Soon there were two naked men standing far apart from each other. "Begin!" she yelled and both naked humans shifted into bears.

Kate had been watching all of this and couldn't help but notice that both of the men were larger than normal humans. Still her mate/fiancé was larger. Then she saw them as bears and saw that Rick was easily bigger than either of those two. She was pretty sure he could take either one of them. "Are you not a part of this because of your father?" she asked him quietly as she half paid attention to what turned out to be a bear fight like those seen in a movie. Rick nodded. "If my father had his way I would have been simply chosen by him and expected to rule just as he had - ruthless and without pity, not to mention just as corrupt," he confirmed.

Kate went back to watching a bear fight that was filled with loud growls and huge paws with razor-sharp claws ripping open deep slashes. There was soon blood everywhere it seemed. Then one of them got in a really good bite that had the recipient roaring in pain. However neither backed down. Their choice of battle seemed to be close-in fighting, using teeth to inflict damage on the other.

"When does it end?" Kate whispered to Serena. "When one backs down or is dead," she replied. "DEAD!?" They were here to fight to the death? "Babe, did you know they would fight to the death?" Was that a reason that Rick wasn't a part of this because he might die? Kate watched Rick nod. She continued to watch while holding onto his arm with both hands. She wanted him whole and undamaged. This was barbaric and a waste. If one of them died that was one less member of the community and it wasn't all that big as it was. What she hadn't noticed was all of the town's people who were there to watch were mostly growling themselves with saliva dripping from their mouths. The fight was primal and the town's people were willing participants in the selection process.

The fight was slowing down as the combatants tired. Both of them were very bloody by this point. It was this tiredness that provided one of them with an opening and he sank his teeth into the other's neck, ripping it open allowing his heart to pump out spurts of blood up into the air. The bleeding bear groaned in severe pain as the fight came to a stop. Kate watched the injured and dying bear shift into a naked human male who quickly bled out and died. The other opponent remained a bear so he could heal his damage for the fight that would take place tomorrow.

Evan Hinkle laid dead on the ground leaving Brian Morris in bear form. "The family of Brian Morris is now free to see to their injured family member. As for the family of Evan Hinkle, you have my condolences on your loss. He was a brave bear who had a dream, fought for it, and lost his dream. Brian Morris has 24 hours to recover from his injuries and will fight Andrea Fisher starting at this time tomorrow afternoon," Serena announced.

It was then that Serena, Joanne, Rick, and Kate were escorted to a house that they could use for the remainder of the day until tomorrow when there would be a winner. They would verify he or she was the winner and leave that person as alpha of the Kodiak clan community.

They were taken to an interesting community housing location. What they found was a central large building with annexes off to each side. The central building had gym area that had a full size basketball court, a large communal kitchen where all meals for that housing group are all made along with his and her restrooms complete with showers. It also had an extensive living room with a large wood burning fireplace of natural stone. The place was a little minimalist for Kate's taste but it was lovely.

The annex buildings went east/west. The five units on the south side were one story one bedroom units with a single bathroom, complete with a living room and a study area. The units on the north side were two story two bedroom units that had 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a study area. The open space between them was partially covered and had large green spaces along with lights hanging from beams between the two units. Each building was made of insulated tilt up panels that had wood accents from ground to roof. In addition the shed roof had solar power panels as well as solar hot water panels. What they didn't know was that the water they used during their stay came from a cistern that held rain water. There was one located under each annex building.

"How many of these are there?" Kate asked the person that escorted them to the two story two bedroom unit they would be using tonight. "There are four at this time with two more presently under construction," she was told.

The living room was colorful enough with a painted accent wall, real hard wood floors, and carpet in the bedrooms. The furniture was comfortable though minimalist looking. Paintings were on the walls, likely done by someone in the community. Each bathroom was equipped with everything they would need. There was even a large TV in the living room with an Xbox.

"It certainly looks nice, though I can't say I would want to live here. The only kitchen has to be shared with ten families on this side and ten more on the other," Kate remarked, offering her opinion. "It's nice I suppose especially since I was expecting a permanently placed travel trailer that has been here for years."

"Actually I'm impressed. Each annex is self-sufficient. They generate their own power so if the city goes dark they still have power. The central kitchen with a large living room creates a family atmosphere. It would be interesting to learn if the other central buildings also have a basketball court or if one has an indoor pool or maybe a tennis court," Serena offered which gave Kate something to think about.

They found themselves in the main kitchen cooking dinner for themselves finding a lot of everything already there when another family joined them and asked if they could cook with them.

"You are Serena Kaye?" one of them asked. "I am," she confirmed. "How many shifters species are there?" she asked Serena. "I don't know them all, but these are the ones I do know," Serena answered and ran down a list: Bears (polar, Kodiak, black, brown, Himalayan brown and black bears, Andean bears also known as Spectacled bears [white faced] ); wolves, coyotes; lions, tigers (Siberian, Bengal, Malaysian), mountain lions, jaguars, leopards (standard and snow), panthers, cougars, cheetahs, lynx, bobcat; gorillas (low land and high land); boars (European, Russian, Wart hogs, feral hogs); horses, deer, elk, bison; eagles, ospreys, great horned owls, falcons, hawks, ravens, pigeons, and mourning doves. And those are just the ones I know about. I'm sure there are others like dolphins, perhaps all 43 species, sharks like hammerhead, tiger, reef, and countless others. Perhaps even turtles. Some turtles live a long time," Serena responded.

"And all of these follow you?" she asked. "Follow me? No, I'm not their leader. Each clan or family has an alpha. It's just that most of these have agreed to help us stop Paladin from killing all of us off. In that regard, yes, I'm their leader. I happen to live amongst and lead the local Mountain Lion clan where I live," Serena told her.

"Do we join you in the fight against Paladin?" she inquired wondering if they will have help and friends or continue to live alone. "That's up to your new alpha. I'm simply here to verify that the selection process is done fairly. Most clans have an alpha as well as a council. The alpha handles the big matters while the council handles the finances, establishes laws, and enforces them. Sees to the welfare of each member of the clan. Helps each business be profitable to the benefit of each member."

"It will be up to your new alpha as to what he or she does or how he or she rules, with or without a council. Still it has proven to be beneficial to have a council. No one person can handle or rule effectively without help," Serena told her.

"Lord Hunt was alone," she countered. "And cooked the books and stole millions from the community since he was solely in charge," Kate spoke up having had her mother finish looking at the ledgers. "Your new alpha and the council will be given all of this money, including the thousands in cash he had hidden away in his house," Kate added."Why should I believe you, outsider?" she challenged Kate. "Because Kate is my bonded life mate," Rick spoke up and used the family connection that he really wanted nothing to do with to support Kate.

"Lord Hunt's son." She knew who he was. "Why are you not challenging for alpha?" He was family after all. "My father wanted me to rule just as he did. He was ruthless and thoughtless of others and I have a life that I much prefer. When you see what a true alpha can do with the money this community makes, you'll understand just what kind of alpha my father really was," he told her.

The rest of the evening went simply and with a lot less emotion allowing them to retire to their rooms. After Kate contacted Amber and made arrangements for Alexis to stay overnight, then called and left a message asking her mother to take care of Midas and Maggie, she and Rick finally relaxed enough to get some sleep before the final fight tomorrow afternoon. Knowing the final bout was scheduled for the afternoon, Rick made arrangements with one of the off duty guards to take him and Kate home in the wee hours of the morning. Kate had to be at work by 6 am so she could take off by noon for the final bout and Rick had to pick Alexis up at Amber's by 8 am.


	54. Chapter 54

**CH54**

Johanna was still in the shower and Oscar had just finished talking to Rick and sent him on his way. Oscar finally got a wild hare that he blamed on being out there. "I know I've ignored you for a very, very long time and I'm not sorry. I love my job and I found Eileen there and had my son there. If I can convince Jo, this may become a daily routine," he said to himself as he stripped off his clothes, left them on a chair, then walked outside. The next thing he knew he was running out in the field and beyond. At first it was little more than muscle memory until eventually he was running flat out, feeling his lungs fill and expand before letting the air out as he snorted a little. Coming across a downed tree he jumped it with ease. And he felt…free. It was a feeling and a life he had suppressed for countless years. Manhattan was no place for this kind of running.

Johanna was out of the shower and getting dressed. She left her bedroom in search of Oscar. She was really hoping he would give her just a little push. She was ready and more than willing to take the next step. He was a good man and she was falling for him - hard. However she couldn't find him. She only found a pile of his clothing including his underwear folded up on a chair near the back door. She left the clothes and walked outside. What was he doing out there naked? If he actually was out there.

She stepped up onto a porch chair to gain some height so she could see farther. What she saw was something she hadn't seen in this area before. "Where in the world did he come from?" Johanna watched as he ran and ran. There was even an occasional hop. It was the best she could describe it. It was part jump and part run while kicking out his rear legs. Then she was shocked when he trotted from far out into the field and headed straight for her house. Even worse he was headed right for her back door!

She kept standing there as she watched him slow and finally stop as they both looked right at each other. He was a magnificent beast. Johanna had never thought of herself as a person who knew much about what she was looking at. Still he was regal looking. He was mostly gray with black legs, the color beginning at his hooves that slowly faded to gray the closer they got to his body. His muzzle was equally black that paled to gray as it reached his eyes which were black. His mane was jet black starting between the ears that partly fell forward and then down his neck. It was long and thick.

And then there was his tail. It was mostly black with hints of gray like highlights that a woman would get in her hair. He was gorgeous as he just stood there and stared at her. "You're a mighty handsome boy." Johanna reached out a hand and stroked his muzzle. "Who do you belong to?" she wondered out loud not really expecting an answer. She was taken aback and shocked when her beautiful horse shoved his nose in her chest almost pushing her off her chair. "Easy boy!" she scolded and stroked her hand down one side of his head.

"It's been a really long time since I've gone riding," Johanna commented mostly to herself. _'If you can call riding a flying dragon_ _rid_ _ing. My husband was black. You kind of remind me of him,'_ she thought as she kept stoking his head. She watched as he turned so that his left side was facing her. "Oh, no. No, I couldn't. You belong to someone and I don't have a saddle. Go on, go home to your owner." She gave him a little push, however the horse barely moved. Unless she called him knocking his side into her forcing her to grab hold of his mane to remain standing barely moving.

"This is a really bad idea," she told herself but jumped up, throwing her right leg over his back and pulling on his lovely black mane to right herself so that she was sitting properly. As she held onto his mane the horse suddenly began walking back out into the large field behind their house. Soon the horse was trotting and Johanna was doing what she could to stay on his back. It was when the horse started running that she leaned forward and held that much tighter onto his beautiful black mane. However she was grinning as the horse under her kept running. It was as close as she'd come to flying since she'd been sky bound on Jim's dragon's back!

"NO, NO, NO! No jumpinnngggg!" she yelled as the horse jumped over a small tree lying on the ground. Grateful that she hadn't fallen off his back, she'd found it thrilling. The horse slowed to a walk and stopped. Johanna was sitting there with a wide smile on her face. "That was exciting but don't even think of doing that again," she informed him tersely only to have him trot away then turn around and head right back for the same fallen tree. "No, no, no ,noooooo!" The horse and she jumped the little tree again.

"You don't listen very well do you?" she scolded and saw him nodding his head, snorting through his nose. "And you talk back!" she said in wonderment and was slightly amused. "Okay boy, let's go home before you decide to jump something bigger and I fall off and break something." Johanna tried to turn his head back towards the house only to have him take off trotting farther out into the field. "You're going the wrong way," she chided him.

Her attempts to get him to turn prove fruitless. "Just where do you think you're going?" she demanded then spotted an abandoned barn-like structure that was partially collapsed that he was headed for. Once they were closer to it she could see the paint had long since flaked away, the exposed wood a silvery gray. He stopped moving and Johanna realized he was standing next to something that she could step onto to get off of him if she chose. So long as she kept him from running away she could use it to get back on him.

As she slid down off his left side, the crate she stepped on gave way causing her to scream in surprise as she fell to the ground. She landed on her butt and started laughing at herself, right up to the point where her handsome gray and black horse suddenly turned into a completely naked Oscar who was quickly down on his knees next to her. "Jo! Are you hurt? I didn't know it would collapse on you." He lifted her up a little so he could look at her. "Oscar?" Johanna was shocked, though because of her daughter and her dead husband, even Rick a little for that matter, she wasn't quite that shocked.

"Give me a chance to explain Johanna, please. I swear I'm not some strange…" She interrupted him. "You're a shifter," she said calmly. Now it was Oscar's turn to be shocked. Only in his case he was seriously astonished since very few humans knew about shifters. "You know about...people like me?" He could scarcely believe it. He was sure changing form in front of her would scare her off permanently, but he couldn't leave her lying on the ground possibly hurt. She nodded. "My husband was a shifter," Johanna clarified, not ready to tell him that her daughter, Rick, and likely Alexis were also shifters. "Your husband." Oscar thought it over. He knew that meant Kate probably was as well since shifter genes tended to be dominant. His nose had already told him that Johanna was human now that he was starting to slowly release the horse that was inside him.

"I suppose I need to explain," he began only to see Johanna shake her head. "It can wait Oscar." She didn't need to understand. What she did need was up off her sore ass. "Help me up, please?" She held out her hands and Oscar pulled her up. Johanna found that not only was she standing but she was also now in his arms. "Uhm, Oscar, you're na…" She was forced to stop talking when he kissed her. They had been kissing a lot lately and the more it happened, the more she liked it. She immediately kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him with her hands feeling the skin of his naked back.

She broke from the kiss. "Oscar?" She was silenced when he kissed her again. She kissed him back and actually held him close, wishing for her clothes to be gone. She had always thought that if they did make love to each other it would be in her bedroom on a bed, but he was naked in her arms and there wasn't a person for miles.

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Serena and Joanne along with a number of the town's citizens were back at the park. Rick and Kate joined them after dropping Alexis off at the Kodiak community child care center for the duration of today's final bout. "Brian Morris have you had time to recover from your injuries?" she asked him and he signaled that he was fine. "Who has inspected his injuries from yesterday and can confirm that he has completely healed?" Serena didn't want one to get an advantage over an injured opponent.

After being assured that Brian was fine by the clan's healer, she continued, "Very well. Andrea Fisher and Brian Morris, do each of you remember the rules of this combat?" Each nodded in turn. "Good, step back to your starting positions and strip," she commanded and waited. "Begin!" Serena yelled and they both shifted into their bears. It was clear that Brian was a good deal larger than Andrea was. They each approached much like the last fight and Kate closed her eyes. This was going to be quick and a slaughter and she didn't want to watch someone else die.

Suddenly there was a growl of pain and then nothing. "WOW! Did you see that?" Kate realized that it was Rick who was astounded. She opened her eyes and looked. What she saw was the big bear was on all fours with blood running down his rear leg while the smaller bear was quickly running out into the park. "Did you see that? That was fast! …Kate?" Rick down look at her. "Kate?" he questioned since he knew she had to have seen it. She stared at the ground. "I had my eyes closed," she whispered not knowing what she missed. "You missed it? I can't believe you missed it." He was actually amazed at what the smaller bear had done. It was brilliant strategy. "She was about to be slaughtered," Kate half defended herself, convinced that if the fight went like it did last time, Andrea, the little bear, was going to get her back crushed at the very least.

Serena, Joanne, and the clan members present followed as the big, injured bear limped his way out into the park to chase her down. "If we want to see this, we need to get moving," Rick told her as he took her hand and started running at pace Kate could keep up to him with. However he wasn't following the group and was actually running on a tangent down one side of the park. It allowed them to watch Andrea arranging something. "What's she doing?" Kate panted. Even though Kate was a shifter too, keeping up with Rick's longer stride had winded her. They were still a good distance away. He shook his head since he didn't have a clue. They watched as Brian, the larger of the two bears, approached at a run with just a hint of a limp. He charged what he took to be a defensive location that the smaller bear would be hiding behind thinking it would offset his larger size and power.

The second he hit it Andrea came charging out of her hiding place and raked her claws across his already hurt leg and quickly bit his other rear leg and ran off again. But she didn't get away scott free as Brian got in a slash causing some damage. "She's quite clever," Kate commented as she watched Brian run after her with a now more visible limp. "She's smaller and weaker but faster and fighting smarter." Kate was grinning now. She actually felt pleased about Andrea's cunning and found herself rooting for her.

This fight, unlike the last one, lasted for hours as Andrea kept coming up with distractions, some of which worked better than others, and made guerrilla strikes. She didn't engage in a head-on, all-out fight until it was almost dark. By then Brian had gotten smarter about how Andrea was fighting and decided to attack her next attempt from a different angle. He came up over a little hill with the sun to his back and attacked. His only problem was she wasn't where he expected her to be. While he was engaged with her empty fortification Andrea slowly came over the same hill he had just come over. Only now the sun was even lower and Brian never saw her coming. Even worse for him, his nose was filled with the scent of the animal that Andrea had killed and left behind so he didn't smell her either.

Her first strike all but removed the more heavily damaged leg as she ran off and waited while Brian tried to do what he could with his heavily damaged leg. He was sure to lose his damaged leg if the fighting didn't stop long enough for his healing ability to have any chance. What he didn't do was get rid of the dead animal that he was still sitting next to. As a result, in the darkness with a bear's poor eyesight, he didn't smell Andrea working her way in slowly and quietly toward him. While she couldn't see or smell him either, she did know he hadn't left the area as yet.

Brian finally got the head-on, all-out fight he had been expecting to take place since the fight had started. His major problem was though he was already down one leg. As he struggled to move against her, Andrea literally bit through his other leg leaving him lying there bleeding to death. She retreated and watched him bleed.

Brian had lost and he knew it. His two rear legs were effectively gone and he wasn't capable of re-growing them. No bear, not even Rick, was able to do so albeit with a mate's help. Brian admitted defeat. He didn't want to live in his condition so he shifted back into a human and died just minutes later.

The Kodiak Bear clan had its new unofficial alpha.

Rick and Kate went to the truck and drove over to pick up Alexis at the Kodiak community child care center. They were worn out from the excitement of the afternoon and were looking forward to a night in their own bed. Kate had to be at work by noon especially since she was only working half a day in order to be back at the Kodiak compound by early morning with Rick and Alexis. It was important for Rick to be there to give his tacit approval of the new alpha because he was Hunt's son. He had also decided that since the fighting was over it would be safe for Alexis to attend. In addition Kate had to be at the announcement of the victor so she could turn over the contents of the mansion's floor safe to the new alpha.

It wasn't until very early the next morning that Serena and the others caught up to her and found Brian Morris dead.

"There was no time limit placed on the battle and Andrea has used that to her benefit. Some of you may not see her fighting style as being strictly that of a Kodiak Bear however her victory has earned her the title of alpha," Serena proclaimed.

Andrea's family surrounded her congratulating her on her victory. She soon learned just what she had won as Kate handed over everything she had gotten out of Hunt's floor safe: Five ledgers that told her the amount of money the community was generating; The cash that Kate had found in his safe as well as the off shore account that held millions; The final part that made everyone happy came from the black portfolio that Kate had taken out of the bottom of Hunt's safe. It held the deeds for each and every piece of land that Hunt had acquired.

Becoming alpha allowed Andrea and her family to move into the log home that used to be occupied by Hunt and Martha alone. It had taken weeks to repair the damage Kate had done to the house. Although she could lead alone, Andrea wasted no time in setting up a small council that would handle the money that the community made and would spend it where it was needed.

The community soon had semi-trailers full of solar power panels as well as the first of several even longer trucks towing parts for wind mills to generate power. Adding the windmills would continue for years making them even more self-sufficient and earning more money as they sold excess power back to the regional electric company. There would be no more brown outs across the community. It allowed Andrea to tear down old housing and replace it with still more housing groups just like the one Serena, Joanne, Rick, and Kate had stayed in for that one night after the initial bout, since Kate had to go back to work by 6am the following morning.

The members of the community also found that they all got raises of a size that almost doubled what they had been making and still the community grew. Andrea handed the deeds over to the owners of the buildings that were on that land. The owners then owned all of their business and no longer had to hand over all of the proceeds to the alpha. By the time Andrea lost her second challenge thirty five years later, the community was twice the size that it used to be when she became alpha. In that time the community actually had more children in it than adults. The population boom during her time as alpha had been huge, as had the improvements to the community as a whole.

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The surrounding area was wild grass, weeds, and wild flowers. Johanna was resting on top of a still naked Oscar who was lying on his back. She hummed and stroked her hand over his chest. "It's been a long time," she commented and felt him chuckle. "I hate to break it to you, but it's been even longer for me," he said. She raised up so she could look at him. "Surely not!" she exclaimed in disbelief. He was handsome, in very good shape, and he was 'equipped' in a way that would make any woman very happy.

"I moved away from home and our small horse clan and decided to make my fortune in New York City. Eventually I succeeded but it forced me to suppress the horse inside me for years. Then I met Eileen and fell in love and we had Michael. He really is an amazing young lad. A while later she got sick and lingered for a year. Instead of leaving New York after her death I dived even deeper into my work. I think Rick helped me more than he knows during the time she was in the hospital."

"He contacted me about you wanting to open a restaurant. When I came out here it was like a breath of fresh air. The horse inside me relished the idea of moving here. I could quit my job, sell out to my partners, sell my apartment, and essentially retire. That was when I met you. Suddenly the two of us wanted the same thing and I was only too willing to keep coming back out," he told her and it earned him a quick kiss as she snuggled back down on top of him.

"I never did thank you for what you did that night and the following day after I lost Chili and Pepper. Losing them at the same time broke my heart. Without warning there was no one to come back home to." Jo blinked back the tears that had started and kissed his chest. She remembered those days, too. Watching him hurt was so very painful. She thought it was during that time that she started to fall for him.

She was afraid of the answer she was going to receive but she needed to ask. "When are you going home?" she inquired softly. Her business was open and they were still doing pretty good. The first bus was expected to show up tomorrow and they needed to be ready. "When you want me to," he answered her question, which had Johanna back up looking at him, shocked and happy at the same time. "Oscar y...you li...live ...there, your w...work ...is there," she stammered. His whole life was in New York.

"My horse is alive again here and I'm finding that I love what I've missed out on for years. It's even had me thinking about opening a horse rescue facility. Take in horses who are possibly on their last legs or have been mistreated and give them a real home. Not many, maybe just 5 or 6. I would need a place that was big enough. Build a stable to house them in, construct a fenced area for them to run around in or let them out and run free. I would also need a place to hold their feed and other things. Look up a large animal veterinarian to tend to them." Oscar had dreams and ideas now that he had been here for a while.

"You wouldn't happen to know of a place?" He was smiling and suddenly Johanna's broken heart was learning how to soar again. She rested her head back down on his chest and stroked his bare chest once again. Before she could stop herself she said, "I have 40 acres." And her heart seized up knowing what she had just offered and was scared as to what he would say.

"And an entire second floor that could use an extensive remodel. We could live upstairs and convert the downstairs into a one man office for an architectural firm that specializes in kitchens of all sizes," he told her. Johanna blinked back yet more tears. He was willing to stay for her!

She reached down and took hold of his flaccid penis, stroking it and starting round two of them making love to each other.


	55. Chapter 55

**CH55**

Rick dropped off Kate at her house since she wanted to pack up about half of her clothes and move them over to their home. "What's your mother going to say?" he asked her. "I'm hoping she'll be happy for me. Besides if you and Alexis are right, Oscar isn't going to be leaving for days if not weeks." She was still working out how she thought about that. She liked Oscar sure, but she mostly liked him for what he was doing for her mother and her restaurant. Moving out here and opening a restaurant where her mother could cook to her heart's content. Her mother was living again and Oscar had a hand in that.

"You're thinking too loudly over there," Rick pointed out as he parked behind her Jeep. "I love and miss my dad and I'm sure Mom does too. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about her moving on." Her parents were supposed to be together forever. Now thanks to Paladin they were broken.

"Oscar is a good man, give him a chance." Rick wanted it to work out for all of them.

"I intend to. I just want Mom happy. It's why I moved out here." Kate didn't know if she had told him that before, however he didn't look shocked.

"Speaking of coming out here, when are your friends showing up?" Rick asked her. That had Kate smiling widely. "Tomorrow evening actually. Their plane is scheduled to land about 8:30 pm. They'll pick up their luggage, rent a car, and drive here from Rapid City. I told them to come to your house first since I was likely going to be there instead of here," she told him.

"I'll make sure the spare room is ready and the games are all warmed up and working properly. I may have to go get gas for the quad though." He was actually looking forward to meeting her friends.

"Give me some time to pack and talk to Mom and I'll be over." She kissed him quickly. "I should be over in time to tuck you into bed sweetie." Kate reached back to Alexis and blew her a kiss and got out of the truck. "Wait up for me." Kate told them and went inside.

She opened the door and found her mother and Oscar standing in the kitchen, not just standing in it but with his arms wrapped around her mother from behind with him giving the side of her head kisses. She stopped right where she was and watched with her mouth hanging open. Hearing something about it was one thing, however watching it was quite another story. At first watching her mother with Oscar made her sad. It should be her dad, not Oscar. Though the longer she watched the more she saw that her mother was happy. While at the same time her heart missed her father all over again.

Kate stepped back outside and pulled the door closed, just not enough for it to latch. It gave her time to take some deep breaths. Her mom was happy which made her happy, or at least she wanted to be happy. "GOD DAMN PALADIN!" she whispered to herself.

She needed someone to blame for this mess. She was in love and happier than she'd ever been. But did it have to be at the cost of her father's life? She took a deep breath and opened the door loudly by making it hit the door stop hard. "You home Mom?" she called out as she entered and found them both still in the kitchen just as Oscar was leaving it.

"KATIE!" Johanna turned to face her and Kate saw a glow on her mother's face.

 _'Oh god, I think they did it_ _,'_ she thought to herself. Her mother's face even had a guilty look on it. _'Are they still naked?'_ Rick inquired. Kate didn't see the giant grin on his face but she just knew he had one.

' _I wasn't talking to you, now leave me alone so I can talk to my mother and Oscar.'_ Kate didn't want to sound terse with him but she feared that she did. _'I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to blow up at you. It's just that I found them together_ _with Oscar_ _holding_ _her_ _and kissing_ _her_ _.'_ She really needed to clear her head and not hear her dragon or Rick. _'Got it, I'll be as silent as a mouse. Take your time. Remember we both love you_ _,_ _'_ he told her and became quiet.

"Katie?" Johanna asked again since she had been quiet. Kate walked up to the counter across from her, reached for her hands, and held them in hers clasped together.

"Something you want to tell me Mom?" She wanted to see if her mother was secure enough to admit it to her.

"I…we…" Johanna really was a little lost here. Just how did she tell her daughter that she had moved on from her father, her husband? However, Johanna felt something that got her attention. "ME!? What have _you_ done Katie?" Johanna held up Kate's left hand which easily displayed the ring that was on her finger. Immediately Kate was smiling while blushing a little. Rick had actually proposed a couple of days ago and she had only gotten her ring recently after Alexis herself slipped it on her finger for Rick.

"Rick proposed." Kate was beaming, and it had Johanna practically squealing as she came around out of the kitchen to wrap her arms around her daughter. "I'm so happy for you Katie. I just knew you loved Rick and his little girl." Johanna went back to crushing her in a motherly hug.

"I love both of them so very much Mom. More than I thought was even possible. I never knew just how empty my life really was until they filled it." Kate had actually thought she was happy when she lived in New York and had her job as a homicide detective. "That little girl is an angel, trust me I should know," Oscar told her.

"So when's the wedding?" Johanna dived right out in front. "I only just got engaged Mom. Give me a chance to enjoy it first," Kate chastised her though it didn't come across as being upset in her voice.

However she stepped back and looked at the two of them. "Now, what's going on?" she glared at the two of them.

Johanna had never thought of herself as being susceptible to her daughter's glare but under the circumstances, this time it had her heart racing and she really was worried about what her daughter would think. She looked between Oscar and Kate. "I…we… Oscar and I…" Johanna really didn't want to say _'_ _h_ _ad sex'_ even if that was what they had done. Twice even, with her on top both times.

"What your mother is trying to say is that she accepted my offer to stay out here for a while while we date and get to know each other better. We've even been thinking of renovating the entire house. Live upstairs and create an office downstairs with a business much like the one I have in New York," Oscar said to help Johanna out.

That was actually a bit of a shock for Kate. She knew her mother liked Oscar and now she was finding out that he was willing to move here to be with her instead of trying to talk her into moving back to New York. It answered a question about the restaurant.

"Oscar is a shifter," Johanna suddenly mentioned followed by her slapping her hand over her mouth since she didn't know what had happened to her filter. That tidbit of information had Kate openly staring at Oscar. "You're a shifter too? Do you know any others?" She wasn't going to give up herself or Rick or Alexis just yet.

"I was part of a really small shifter family. Just me and my parents. I left home to make a life for myself and finally did it in New York. I met Eileen, got married, and had a son, Michael. After Eileen passed away I stayed in the city and ignored the horse inside me."

"Rick got me to come out here to help Johanna and I started falling in love with the open area. I could feel the horse inside me loving it out here and not wanting to go back. I was also starting to be interested in Johanna. Those two combined got me to come here a lot. More than was truly necessary," Oscar told her.

"How long have you known Mom?" Kate questioned her. "Only a few hours actually. I found him outside running around and Oscar gave me a ride. He even jumped this little tree. I thought sure he was trying to dump me on my ass," Johanna teased him.

"Your ass is fine and it's not my fault the wood collapsed and you landed on your ass," Oscar teased back. "TMI you two, way too much TMI." Kate made a face which in this case was real and not faked. "And you have room to talk Katie?" Johanna countered not realizing that she just admitted that the two of them had had sex.

"And on that note, I'm going to go pack some clothes to take over to Rick's house. I'll be spending the next few nights over there," Kate informed the two of them. "Oh, and don't forget, we have company flying out tomorrow and they'll be using one or more of the bedrooms here," she reminded them and went upstairs to pack.

Kate made sure to make noise coming down the stairs so she didn't have to see Oscar with his arms around her mother again. She really had to get a handle on her thoughts on the matter of her mother being with Oscar. "See you tomorrow Mom," she called out and dragged her bags out to her Jeep.

Kate found the front door unlocked with Midas and Maggie just inside the door happy to see her and not leaving until they were both properly petted. "How the heck do you two always know when I'm home anyway?" she questioned them.

Rick came around the corner and took one of her bags. "They can hear your Jeep when you pull up," he told her. "But my Jeep is way out there!" She used her now free arm to point to where her Jeep was sitting. "Yep," he agreed and started walking upstairs. He stopped Kate at the door to Alexis's bedroom. "I'll take that. There's a certain someone who wants to see you and you promised to tuck her in when you got home." He smiled and headed for their bedroom.

She smiled as she walked into Alexis's room and found her all curled up on her bed sound asleep. Kate carefully uncurled her and pulled the covers up over her. "You really are my brave little bear." She leaned down to kiss her head. "What I wouldn't give to be your birth mother." She let the tear escape from her eye and wiped it away. "Good night sweetie." She kissed her head again. "Mom?" Alexis whispered in a sleep induced drug sound. "Shhhh, go back to sleep. I'll have breakfast with you in the morning before work." Kate ran a hand through the little girl's hair. "Love…mom," Alexis mumbled. "I love you too Alexis. Good night." Kate adjusted the sheets and comforter over her and left giving Alexis one last lingering look from the door.

Kate was reflecting on what her life was like now as she walked into their bedroom and found Rick already in bed waiting for her. "How was she?" he asked her. "Sleeping soundly," she told him and stepped into the bathroom to start her nightly routine.

She was barely dressed as she slipped into bed and into Rick's arms where she found herself in yet another of his hugs. She closed her eyes and melted into him. "Where were these hugs years ago when I could have used them?" she murmured. "Living another life," he told her. That got her to lift up and place herself more on top of him.

"We both were." Kate, however, knew her life hadn't been anything like Rick's. She wished she had found him when they were both in New York. It was anyone's guess where they might be now if she had.

"Rick, if we had met earlier…" Kate wasn't sure what she was asking. "My bear would have noticed you in an instant and been on my case to see you as often as I could. Though I might not have listened since I had silenced him years ago. Moving out here is what brought him alive," he had to admit.

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She was nervous about today as she sat at her desk waiting for everything to happen. First Greta was scheduled to show up this morning for her first day of work. Kate had only ever spoken to her over the phone. She had her report on her that she had requested. Mostly she had hired her because of what Espo had told her. She trusted Espo and yet this was a big step.

Then the first trailer from the contractor who was going to start work on their building in about a week and a half was scheduled to show up. Two of his men were going to do a survey of their building so they could work out where to start.

About the same time an HVAC technician was going to come out and look at their heating system. Kate had high hopes that he had good news for a change. Sure she still had money in her budget, but it wasn't even winter yet so she had to be careful with expenditures. Plus due to a delay their new Apple computers for the office were finally scheduled to be delivered and the women in the office would be busy installing all of the necessary software and make the conversion from Microsoft Windows to Apple. She was sure there would be problems, just that these computers were the newest and greatest things available. They came out in March and here it was late July.

Adding to all this was the fact that their K-9 unit was going to show up today as well. Kate had talked to him frequently on the phone. Their new cars were still over a month away so he would be getting his choice because of the dog. When the new cars did show up he was going to get one of the PT-Cruisers.

And if all that wasn't enough, she was hoping for an answer from LT any time. If he declined her offer she was back to square one and needed to start looking all over again.

A knock at her door brought her back to the here and now. "The man for the heating system is here ma'am," Elizabeth told her. "Thanks Elizabeth, let's hear what he has to tell us." Kate stood up, went to greet him, then they both showed him what they had and let him work.

Just as they left him Greta showed up. "Greta, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kate shook her hand.

"I really appreciate this offer ma'am. I won't let you down." Greta needed to make this work.

"Esposito spoke highly of your actions during that incident on the train. Let's get you introduced to everyone, get you into a uniform, check out your equipment, assign you a car, and have you get started. For a least the first week, you'll be here in the office. If we get a call you'll be the one to answer it. Sloan is off today, two are out on patrol since it's the weekend and the courthouse is closed, and there will be only one deputy during the night shift," Kate explained as she showed Greta around and soon had her assigned to her own desk.

Just as Greta was sitting at her desk while working with the other women getting taught how things work in the office, the next new hire and his German Shepard arrived.

"I'm giving you the last Dodge Durango until the new cars come in a little over a month from now. It's supposed to be set up for a dog in the back just as you asked. For now you'll join Greta who is our other new hire that started today. Who's your friend?" Kate held out a hand for his dog to sniff. "I have two Dobermans at home and Mom has a small dog," she explained as the German Shepard was sniffing her.

"This is Jethro. We finished our training together last month. This is our first assignment together," Mark explained. "Well, I'm glad to have you and Jethro. I take it you found a place to live?" she asked him. "We moved in yesterday. It's nice and much less expensive than I ever thought. It's fully fenced for Jethro to be outside and it even has a garden space." Kate instantly knew just which one he was talking about.

"My wife is probably already out there expanding it into something even bigger," Mark said as he chuckled and was expecting to go home to find his wife with dirt all over her.

Kate was back in her office and was starting to open her lunch when the UPS driver showed up with several boxes. She came out of her office and joined the women as they opened the first one. "This is going to be different." Elizabeth joked since they were used to using a standard tower with a monitor. Now they had laptops.

"You're first Elizabeth; get yours changed out and up and running and don't forget we have 24 hour support to help you, so use them and abuse them. I don't expect this change to be easy. Just remember I'm last." Kate was smiling since she was finally close to having this office running like it was supposed to.

Kate hadn't yet finished her lunch which required her to use the office microwave when she had another knock on her door. "Your heating system is old but actually is in good shape. There are newer and more energy efficient systems on the market today and you'll need one of them in a few years. I've cleaned the boiler and replaced the ignitors. What I would like to do is flush the system and refill it," he told Kate. She wrote out a check for the work he'd done today knowing he'd be back tomorrow to flush the system and refill it.

She was soon back to eating her lunch. Kate still hadn't heard from LT when Amber showed up with Samantha to start her night shift. "Hi Sam, you coming home with me again?" Kate greeted her, just a little sad that she would be missing Alexis again, at least until breakfast.

"Sam has talked me into asking if she can do a sleep over. Meaning she spends the day with Alexis and Rick tomorrow and I'll pick her up when you bring her back into work the following morning." Amber sprung it on Kate.

Kate opened her eyes wide since she was not expecting this. "I have friends flying out from New York today. They should already have landed in Rapid City and be on their way here," she had to tell her as she looked at her watch.

"I'm sorry, I knew I should have thought to check if you had plans. We'll just make it for another day." Amber hugged her daughter hoping she didn't feel bad. "Espo and Kevin have to go back in three days while Jenny and Lanie will be staying for a week. We were planning on going camping after the guys leave. We can take Sam with us if you are willing. We'll have the space," Kate offered, knowing just what Rick would say.

Excited, Sam turned to her mother. "Please Mom!?" she begged. Sam had heard everything especially the word camping. "We'll have to talk with your father tomorrow. If he agrees then you can go." Amber was happy that her little girl was so happy.

"I'll get Rick to give me the necessary permission forms for you to sign. It'll be for three days and two nights just like last time," Kate informed them then heard her desk phone ring. "Excuse me, make plans, call your husband and talk with the women. We got our new computers in today and we're starting the conversion to using them." Kate jogged to her office.

"Beckett," Kate answered the phone and listened for a moment. "Hi LT, how's New York treating you?" She was really hoping for good news. While she listened her eyes opened wide. "And your girlfriend is interested in being a partner in this business?" Kate questioned him and listened for a while.

"WOW, that sounds like a lot of house and yes, the job offer is still open and yours if you want it." Kate crossed her fingers and tried to cross her toes. "GREAT! It'll be good to have you LT! Greta, and Mark our K-9 unit, started work today and our new computers just showed up with the cars a little over a month out still. Likely you and Greta will get one of the Intrepid RTs since one of the Rams is always going to be here at the office," Kate explained and listened for a while.

"Three weeks is good. We'll be waiting and I'm happy for you LT. It sounds like you have found the right girl," she told him and hung up to get back to Amber and Sam. "Ready to go sweetie?" Kate held out her hand for her to take.

"My husband has agreed that she can go camping with you, so I'll pack her suitcase the night before and bring it with me," Amber informed her. "That's great! I'm sure no one will mind one additional person on our trip. And Sam will give Alexis someone to play with. I'll bring in the forms tomorrow." Maybe it would help Alexis feel better with four strange adults being part of the trip.

Kate soon had Sam dressed for sleep and tucked into bed. "You can see Alexis for breakfast tomorrow and tell her you're going with us while camping." Kate stroked her hair and kissed her head. "Thanks Kate." Sam couldn't wait.

It was just then when Midas and Maggie went nuts when the doorbell sounded announcing the arrival of Espo, Kevin, Jenny, and Lanie.


	56. Chapter 56

**CH56**

"I don't think we're in New York City anymore." Espo stated the obvious as he drove the four of them away from Rapid City and into Wyoming following the directions the GPS unit gave him. Kate had assured them that they wouldn't need gas in the 1-1/2 hours it took to drive the distance.

As they drove, the area went from wooded to something resembling more high desert with woods in the distance. They saw horses and a few cows as they traveled. The GPS told Espo to turn off the highway onto a dirt road to his right with another one just like it to the left. So far everything was as Kate had explained, though he was still worried that he had made a wrong turn. "HOLY…!" Kevin exclaimed as the log home came into view.

"WOW!" Jenny was impressed as she did what she could to see it out of the car windows. "Just who is this Rick anyway?" Lanie commented softly. Espo parked in the driveway that held a green Jeep and a large travel trailer. "It certainly looks like the place," Espo commented as he remembered Kate telling him about her Jeep and the fact that she, Rick, Alexis, and the women would be going camping after the guys left to go back to work since Lanie and Jenny got more time off work than Montgomery had allowed for them.

All of them got out of the car and went up to the front door leaving their luggage behind for now. It was a little late and they were all weary from traveling. Espo pressed the button and heard the doorbell ring followed immediately by loud barking from a pair of dogs that sounded like they were willing to rip whoever was on the other side of the door to pieces. They could hear Kate's voice on the other side of the door. "Midas, Maggie, SIT! Now be nice, they're my friends," she told the dogs and was amazed when they both did as she asked them.

Kate opened the door to find her four friends standing there. "Hi guys!" She was smiling widely as Lanie wasted no time in giving Kate a bone-crushing hug. "You said the house was nice, not a mansion," Lanie chastised Kate after releasing her. "I'm glad you like it," a new voice spoke up as Rick arrived which signaled the dogs to start poking their noses into everyone causing all of them, especially Jenny, to question this. "Give them a chance to get used to your scent, they're just trying to figure out who you are," he said trying to reassure them.

"This is Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan and his wife Jenny, and Lanie Parish. Guys this is Rick Rodgers. His daughter Alexis and a house guest are asleep upstairs. You'll meet them in the morning," Kate told them.

"Come on in and get comfortable. Can I get anyone something? Beer, wine, soda, or just water?" Rick asked as Kate closed the front door and walked them inside. However all he got back was silence as their guests were busy taking in the living and dining room with the opening into the kitchen. "Midas, Maggie, go upstairs to Alexis," he commanded and they watched the dogs run upstairs and disappear. Still everyone was looking at the open log beams, wood ceiling, giant rock fireplace, and one wall of windows. Kate had gotten so used to living here that she had forgotten just how nice the house really was. Rick and Kate went into the kitchen to get beers, wine, and a soda for Jenny leaving them to look the place over.

"What do we do with Sam?" Rick asked since the original plan was for someone to get that room and everyone else went over to her house. "There's only the one bed in Alexis's room and it doesn't feel right having her sleep on the floor, plus it's late." Kate had forgotten about Sam spending the nights with them.

"You have what, 2 spare bedrooms?" Rick questioned. "Three if I sleep over here," she replied. "Sounds like we don't have a choice," he said, stating the obvious. Kate's friends would all have to stay at her place.

He went back into the living room with three bottles of beer, only his was his favorite honey ale. Kate came out balancing two full wine glasses and a glass of soda for the girls. "Come on I'll show you the game room," Rick told the guys and took Espo and Ryan downstairs leaving the women to talk.

As soon as the guys were out of sight Lanie turned on Kate. "Now start talking and don't you dare leave anything out! You can start with that rock that's on your finger." Lanie took Kate's hand and held it up to get a better look. Jenny was shocked since she hadn't noticed. Kate tried to hide her face knowing that she was blushing. "Rick proposed a couple of days ago." She let Lanie keep her hand.

"Who are you and what have you done with Kate Beckett?" Lanie questioned her trying to sound serious. Kate laughed softly at that since she knew that she wasn't the same person that Lanie had last seen. "It's still me Lanie, honest," she replied trying to defend herself. "Un-uh honey. The Kate Beckett I know wouldn't be engaged just months after finding a guy. Have some fun with him, a few rounds in bed maybe, but engaged and with a smile that's threatening to break her face? No way. So start talking." Lanie wasn't buying it.

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"Oh man, I'm going to love this house." Espo walked into the basement where the pool table, air hockey table, and poker table were all located. "There's also an exercise room through there and a theater room through there." Rick pointed in each direction.

Ryan searched for all the balls while Espo looked for the rack to set up the balls. "Cutthroat?" Espo suggested as he racked the balls. "Roshambo?" Espo offered to see who went first. The three of them held out their hands and shook them up and down three times. Espo had paper to Rick's scissors while Kevin also had scissors. Espo was out leaving Rick and Kevin. Once more and Rick had rock to Kevin's scissors. So Rick broke and started playing until he missed leaving it to Kevin who was next.

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Lanie and Jenny turned their heads when they heard Rick break on the pool table downstairs. "Is there anything this house doesn't have?" Jenny asked knowing what the guys were doing downstairs. "It doesn't have a pool, though summer doesn't last that long out here to have one. At least not outside anyway," Kate replied.

Kate couldn't take the look Lanie was giving her anymore. "It's me Lanie, I swear. It's just that Rick makes me happy. As sad as it sounds I only thought I was happy before." There was no way Kate was going to tell them that she was Rick's bound life mate, let alone that she was a real honest-to-god dragon. Or that Rick and Alexis were Kodiak bears.

"And his little girl that I hear he has?" Jenny questioned. "Alexis is so sweet and so well behaved. Rick's done a tremendous job raising her alone. You'll get to see her tomorrow while I'm at work. I can't afford to take the entire week off. We're still short staffed in the office and I need to be there." Kate apologized again. "Now that sounds more like the Kate that I know. You never did know how to relax. So do you miss your old job?" Lanie let Kate off the hook for now. She was here for a week and was willing to use the entire week to get the answers she wanted.

"I miss you and the guys, but the job? Not so much. I made the right choice to move. You should see Mom now. I was positive she was killing herself slowly after Dad died. She's so much more like she used to be. She's actually happy again." Kate smiled, pleased that her mom was doing so well. Kate didn't know if it was the 1.85 million or Oscar or anything she had done. Maybe even Patch had paw in this. She didn't know. She was just thrilled to have her mother back. Jenny hugged her knowing the price Kate had paid to help her mother.

"Now tell us about Rick. What does he do? How can he afford this place?" Lanie spread her arms wide and looked around. Everything looked so very nice. "You can't tell this to anyone, anyone at all. Promise me, give me your word that you'll tell absolutely no one." Kate knew Rick had run from who he used to be. "Cross your heart and hope to die kind of promise," she tried to make it sound serious. After getting her promises she said, "Rick Rodgers is Richard Castle." Her statement had Jenny slapping a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out while Lanie sat there stunned. "The author Richard Castle? The author who has books in the top ten time and time on the New York Times best seller list. That Richard Castle?" Lanie needed to hear it. Kate simply nodded. "It's a long story but he left New York to get away and he wants to stay hidden away. He's a ghost writer now so he doesn't do book signings or book tours anymore," she explained.

"You're engaged to Richard Castle." Lanie sat back, speachless at it all. How had Kate found and gotten engaged to playboy Richard Castle? Lanie sat up straight and looked at Kate. "Aren't you at all worried that he will just leave you? He's a playboy Kate!"

"That's why he's out here. It was his publicist and publisher that talked him into being seen as a playboy who was only interested in women for one thing. He changed his name and came out here to get away from that life. That's not him Lanie, I swear he's different than his public persona was." Kate was already sure in this belief. He almost literally couldn't keep secrets from her.

"I'll try and keep an open mind honey, but a leopard doesn't just change his spots," Lanie countered. "That's why he's out here. It was his publicist and publisher that talked him into being seen as a playboy who was only interested in women for one thing. He changed his name and ran out here to get away from that life. That's not him Lanie, I swear he's different than what they had the press display him as." Kate was already sure in this belief. Rick almost literally couldn't keep secrets from her.

She looked at her watch. "Maybe we should go. You have work in the morning and I'd rather meet your mother tonight than in the morning after sleeping in her house," she remarked. Kate nodded in agreement. "Oh, Oscar will be there just so you know. He's dating my mom." With that she called downstairs to get the guys back upstairs to leave for her mother's house. She led them across the street in her Jeep. The house felt less like hers and more like just her mother's home. Rick's house was her home now.

It really was late and while Kate was getting them into various bedrooms when her mother showed up wrapped in a robe and looking sleepy. "Hi, sorry about the time." Lanie was the first Johanna found. Still Lanie got a hug and after Johanna made sure everyone was here she went back to bed. It did, however, tell Kate just where Oscar was since Lanie and Espo were not sharing a room. It was one more example that her mother was moving on.

She sat in her Jeep outside of the house and was still trying to work it all out in her head. She really did like Oscar, he was a good man. But she didn't know how to take him being a shifter. She did know positively that she was going to have to talk with her mother about her being a dragon and keeping that from him. Kate was taking seriously what Serena had said about countries who would kill to get their hands on her. Literally kill. Maybe Serena had information on Oscar and his family. That thought had her resting her head on her steering wheel. "We still don't have a way to contact her. Or even know where she lives," she groaned in frustration.

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Kate woke up to an empty bed yet again and since the sheets were cool he had been gone for a while. She fell back into her pillow. _'I hate waking up alone.'_ Kate didn't mean to complain to Rick, it was just a quick thought. _'I'm sorry. I'll remember that in the future. I was just trying to get the girls up early and fed and then into the tub_ _,_ _'_ Rick responded. _'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to complain to you. It was just a sudden feeling.'_ It was another example of how she had changed, that she needed to be careful what she said or thought about saying.

She shuffled down to the kitchen and found Rick cooking and the girls sitting at the table eating. "Morning sweetie." And she kissed the top of Alexis's head. "Morning Mom," Alexis replied. "How are you Sam?" Kate kissed the top of her head as well. "Are we really going camping?" Sam just wanted some reassurance that she was going with them. "Of course honey. That reminds me I need to take the papers Amber needs to sign with me this morning babe." She walked up behind Rick, wrapped her arms around him, and buried her head in his back. "I'll print them out while you are showering and getting dressed," he responded as he reached over to plate her breakfast.

"Where are we going?" Sam was far more awake it seemed than Alexis was. "It's called the Devil's Tower and you two are going to learn to be Junior Park Rangers. We're going to walk the various trails that they have." Rick answered her question. "Park Rangers!? Do they have bears?" Alexis was awake now it appeared. "You'll just have to keep your eyes open and report it you see one. That's the job of Junior Park Rangers," Rick replied as Kate sat down next to Sam to eat. "Not to worry honey, we'll be there to protect you." She placed a hand on Sam who very likely still didn't like her first encounter with bears.

It was over an hour later and Kate was pulling up to the sheriff's office with Sam who had been talking non-stop about nearly anything and everything that came to her mind. "You must be really excited about going camping." Kate had reached a conclusion, and watched as Sam blushed and went quiet. That was until they went inside and Sam rushed over to her mom with Rick's paperwork in hand. "Sign Mom, sign…PLEASE!" which had Amber laughing. "Where are you going?" Amber asked looking at her daughter. "Um…" Sam hadn't been paying attention to that part.

"Junior Park Rangers," Kate whispered over her shoulder on her way to her office. "OH YEAH, we're going to be Junior Park Rangers!" Sam was still excited. It took reading the papers Rick had given her to sign for Amber to find out where her daughter was going.

Kate heard a knock at her doorframe and found Amber with Sam standing there. "Thank you," Amber simply stated. "Oh, and these are yours." She walked in and handed over the signed papers. "I couldn't leave without giving you these," Amber whispered which had Kate chuckling.

"BYE KATE!" Sam yelled from the front door as she followed her mother out. Kate smiled and shook her head. "It's a good thing ma'am," a new voice announced at her door. "And you have an early lunch function with the mayor in over an hour," she reminded Kate and went back to her desk. "How goes the change over to the new computers?" Kate called out getting Elizabeth to come back.

"We're spending a lot of time on the phone getting the first one to work properly, which reminds me," Elizabeth ran for her desk and came back with a paper. "This is the list of programs we need that work on Apple's operating system. Not everything we have is compatible with the new computers…sorry." Elizabeth knew it meant spending more money and she hoped they had the funds.

"Thanks Elizabeth I'll get right on it." Kate looked at the list and the cost. "ELIZABETH!" Kate yelled which had her stopping dead in her tracks and cringing. "Is this right?" Kate questioned her. "Yeah, sorry. One of the programs requires a license so we have to purchase a license for each computer that needs the program." Elizabeth tried to explain. "And we need this program?" Kate demanded. "If we want the computers in the cars to talk to the computers in the office we do." Elizabeth lowered the boom on Kate's choice of new computers. "So our new computers can't talk with the ones in the cars?" Kate hadn't really thought about it. They were computers; computers talk to other computers all the time, right? Watching Elizabeth shake her head wasn't helping.

Kate slumped, dejected. "Where's that list of equipment you did?" Kate started searching her desk until she found it. The computers in the cars were almost as old as the cars they were in. Kate got out of her chair, left her office, and found Greta. "Car keys." Kate held out her hand until Greta handed them over and watched as Kate strode out the front door.

"Am I fired already?" Greta whispered softly as Elizabeth stepped up. "I don't think so." Elizabeth was grinning and immediately struggled to stop grinning when Kate came back inside and handed Greta back her keys. She walked back into her office and picked up the phone. Elizabeth leaned down to Greta. "I think we're about to get new computers for the cars now too." And Elizabeth walked off back to her desk.

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"Ready?" Rick looked down at Alexis who hadn't as yet met Kate's friends since she was asleep when they showed up. "Don't worry they're going to love you and Patch will keep Midas and Maggie busy," he added. Alexis nodded and stood ramrod straight. He knocked and opened the door to the sound of laughter as Midas and Maggie wasted no time and rushed inside. What he found was all the women sitting in the living room and they turned to watch him enter with Alexis. "The guys are out back Rick, you come sit right here sweetheart." Lanie patted the empty space between her and Johanna.

Rick recognized a dismissal when he heard one. "Be a brave girl and go sit next to Kate's mother. If it gets to be too much just get up and go play with Midas and Maggie, they'll protect you." Rick kissed her head and headed for the back door, praying his little girl could handle what he was sure was coming her way.

"So you've been banished from the house too?" Oscar spoke up first as Rick watched Espo and Ryan smiling guilty smiles. "Why is it I get the feeling I should go rescue Alexis now?" Rick inquired. _'Is leaving Alexis with your friend Lanie a good idea?'_ Rick asked Kate. _'Where are you?'_ Kate asked. _'Your house, the guys have been banished to the backyard_ _,_ _'_ he explained.

Just the vision of it had Kate smiling, right up until she considered what Lanie was going to ask Alexis who wouldn't know better and just how dedicated Lanie was. Her mother was one thing, Lanie was 10 times worse. _'Go rescue Alexis now before Lanie has her telling her everything about shifters!'_ Kate didn't have enough faith that her mother would stop her before she said too much.

Rick hurried back inside and found Alexis talking with Lanie. "Alexis, pumpkin, can you take Midas and Maggie outside so that they can be good dogs and not make a mess inside? And maybe take Patch with you just in case," he asked her. "Okay Dad!" Alexis said happily as she jumped up and called for the dogs who all came running and went out the front door followed by Alexis. "Thank you Alexis," Rick called just before the door closed.

"Sorry. I kind of forgot about that before we drove over. Carry on." Rick waved both arms and withdrew back outside not missing the look Lanie was giving him. _'Lanie isn't going to give up is she?'_ Rick asked Kate. _'No, she's relentless. Trust me on that.'_ It left both of them wondering what to do about it. Plus Lanie was staying for an entire week and going on their little camping trip. _'Leave Lanie to me Rick, I'll handle her…I hope.'_ All Kate knew was that it was going to cost her; she just didn't know how much.

Johanna and Oscar retreated to their bedroom to take a nap since the restaurant would be open tonight. Yesterday was the only day they were closed each week.

"How about a tour of the town? I think I can fit all of us in my truck. We can stop for lunch somewhere maybe," Rick suggested. "Pizza?" Alexis brightened up since she had her favorite place in town to eat. "Maybe," her dad said.

Newcastle, they all found, wasn't all that big. "I don't remember ever being in a town this small," Jenny remarked while the others silently agreed. "I'll admit you can't get anything you want delivered at least not without a long wait for UPS to deliver it," Rick said. "UPS knows where this place is?" Espo teased Rick. "Yes, UPS knows where this place is. So does Santa Claus," Rick added. "We have a chimney for him to come down," Alexis said, happy about that.

"This area looks newer than everywhere else," Jenny pointed out, not seeing really old buildings everywhere. "The town had a growth spurt a number of years ago and people built instead of renovating. Which reminds me - I'll drive you over to Johanna's restaurant that will be open tonight," Rick said and drove there, parking in the empty parking lot.

"After Dark," Jenny read the sign. "It's only open for dinner at this time. According to Oscar it's doing pretty well. I can call and make reservations for us. We can eat here tonight if you like. Johanna is actually an excellent cook. She was making all of us dinners for weeks while she worked on her menu. Kate came over to the house to use the exercise room to work off the meals she made." Rick chuckled a little at the memory of the first day she did that.

"How long have Johanna and Oscar been together?" Lanie asked. "That's hard to say exactly. They've been dancing around each other for weeks. Actually being together is relatively recent," Rick said. "And how is Kate taking it?" Lanie questioned him again, searching for information she can use on Kate. "She hasn't talked about it much. I know she's happy that her mother is happy after the loss of her husband," Rick told her.

"Losing Jim was hard on both of them. I never thought Kate would ever leave the city, but she seems to be happy here. We probably have you to thank for that," Lanie said. "Kate is special, she deserves to be happy." Rick was happy she came here too.


	57. Chapter 57

**CH57**

"Alright fine. I love Katherine Houghton Beckett with every part of my being. Next to my daughter she is the most precious person in my life. I've gone through a lot in my life some of which you've likely read about back in New York and a lot that happened long before I ever reached that city. I've let Kate in on all of that, absolutely everything. I'm not hiding anything. If I've left something out it wasn't done deliberately. She knows about my ex-wife and she knows about what happened in New York that put me in the papers."

"She tells me you're her best friend so I'll give you a free pass. Ask me any one question and I'll answer it as completely as I can. You'll learn what Kate already knows," Rick offered. Her friends meant a lot to Kate so they needed to feel good about her being with him. "Any one question?" Lanie confirmed looking at the others that were there except for Oscar and Johanna who were still taking a nap so they would be awake tonight.

Lanie decided to make it simple and all encompassing. If he was going to tell them everything, this was the one thing that bothered her the most. "PLAYBOY."

Rick took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "To understand fully we need to go back about a decade. I was born in a really small community about a quarter the size of Newcastle actually. If you'll pardon the pun...if you were good enough you really could have thrown a rock from one end to the other." That got a couple of light chuckles.

Hunt and Martha's giant house was actually the largest building at the time and not considered part of the town. Speaking strictly about the town itself when Rick was a kid, he was basically correct.

"I got a lucky break and found a publisher that liked what I had written and I signed a contract with Black Pawn. I was young and stupid and didn't know much about contracts or that I really should have had a lawyer read it before signing."

"I met a woman who was nothing like anyone I had ever met before which was no surprise when you consider where I came from. She ended up pregnant and I married her because of it. The result was Alexis who is the shining point of my life. Meredith divorced me but that has nothing to do about your question. I was left with a little baby to raise on my own and dove into writing to make up the money I had lost in the divorce. It was during this time that my publicist and publisher brought up a method to increase sales. I fell for it and my playboy image was born."

"I'll admit that at first having women fawning all over me was a good thing. I had some of the most beautiful women I had ever seen to take on dates hanging on my arm. Others were asking me to sign their chests at book signings." Rick paused when he saw Espo grinning only for him to be hit hard in the arm by Lanie.

This little action told Rick something. _'Are Espo and Lanie an item?'_ he asked Kate. _'Off and on. They're interested in each other just not willing to commit completely. Where did that question come from?'_ she inquired. _'I'm being_ _g_ _rilled by Lanie and Espo was smiling about when I was signing chests and Lanie punched him for it,'_ he explained. _'Interesting! Sounds like the_ _y_ _'_ _re_ _back on again. Thanks babe, you just gave me something I can use later. If Lanie gets to be too much just fight back and she'll back down. For the time being that is...'_ she informed him.

"Being a playboy, however, was beginning to become uncomfortable and there were other things in my life that were taking place that were acting on that feeling. I finally took my contract to a lawyer to have it reviewed and found out that I had effectively signed my life over to my publisher. I was now a playboy or anything else they wanted me to be, like it or not. And I did _not_."

"It was at this time that I bought land here using a different name. I hired an architect to design the house and hired Oscar to design the kitchen."

"My contract with Black Pawn was still in effect for a number of months, 18 months to be precise. My final wake-up call was when I got a call from the grade school Alexis attended." He stopped talking since this was embarrassing and he wasn't proud of it. He actually squirmed in his seat a bit.

"Alexis had gotten into a fight defending my honor against what the other kids were saying about me. I found out after that that she was being teased about who and what I was from the other kids who probably heard it from their parents. It broke my heart that my baby girl was defending me against others. Worse was that I had allowed it to happen in the first place since I had been stupid enough to go along with Black Pawn's idea."

"That was the final straw. I already didn't like the image being that kind of playboy since it really didn't feel like me. I fired my publicist and publisher at the end of my contract, changed my name, and moved out here with my daughter. Rodgers was my mother's maiden name and save for Johanna who, it turns out, was a fan, I've managed to remain hidden until now and now you four know." Rick concluded his answer to Lanie's question.

"But you're still publishing books," Lanie snipped. "I have a new publisher out of Los Angeles and no publicist since I'm writing books under the name Richard Castle as a ghost writer. My new publisher has agreed as part of our contract not to divulge the name of the author who is writing them. I wanted to get away from New York and the playboy image and insulate Alexis from being teased in school again. So far it's worked out well. I haven't heard anything from anyone I left behind and Alexis actually has more friends here than she did in New York." Rick started shining brightly about that. "One of them is going camping with us later," he added.

Rick loved Kate but how his little girl was doing was the shining point of his decision to change his name, how he lived, and where he lived. His bear didn't even remotely miss New York City. Not even a little and neither did he anymore.

"Does that answer your question?" Rick asked looking at Lanie. "May I ask another?" Lanie wasn't afraid of pushing her limits. He laughed. "Sure." Maybe this one would be easier to answer.

"Why here? I mean this isn't anything remotely close to New York," Lanie questioned."Have you asked Kate that?" he countered. "I know she moved to get her mother back and we can respect that. As to why she chose here, no I don't think any of us have asked her that yet." Lanie intended to though.

"Think about it, really think. It shouldn't be that hard," Rick told them and looked at them one at a time. "My name was Richard Castle and I came all the way out here to remake myself. Become the new me or maybe more correctly, be the me I was meant to be. I live in Newcastle," Rick offered trying to see if any light bulbs go on. He slumped; he had thought it was so obvious. It wasn't the only reason but he couldn't resist it when he bought the land. "Richard Castle makes himself into a new Castle as Richard Rodgers in Newcastle, Wyoming," he said. Jenny was first, followed by her husband Kevin, then by Lanie while Espo still struggled with it but kept his mouth shut lest he get punched by Lanie again.

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Kate left the office to attend her lunch meeting with the mayor. What she didn't know was that it was a campaign lunch for her run at being elected sheriff. She got to meet all the major people in Newcastle. All of the owners of the major stores were in attendance along with real estate agents and a developer that the mayor had gotten to show up.

She was really late getting back to the office. She was feeling a whole lot better about her chances at being elected sheriff though. Most everyone knew that she used to be a homicide detective in New York City. They were also shocked to learn what Dahl had been doing with the office's budget.

Kate replacing the ancient cars, computers, and other equipment had gone over pretty well. Her making arrangements to fix the building had gotten a few lifted eyebrows until she explained that the cost of having the illegal roof replaced would be recovered in 3 years and the walls in 2 or 3 years. The roof work would start next week while she was off. The computers had already arrived and the conversion was underway, while delivery of the cars was still just over a month away.

What happened at Dahl's house was still unknown but she was expecting the results of all the samples she sent in about 2 weeks; when the State would get theirs back she didn't know.

She also now had an account to use for the purpose of working to get elected sheriff along with a lot of paperwork on how the funds could and couldn't be spent. The first thing to go out would be a flyer to all of the houses and farms. They were places that she had already visited during her time out on the road when she was first hired. Those connections were now coming back to help her.

Kate got a phone call about when she could expect to get the next set of computers to replace the ones in the cars, meaning they didn't need the expensive program that Elizabeth had pointed out. Getting the program would have been less expensive, but the computers in the cars were old just like the ones in the office.

It was only a few hours later when Kate was driving home with Sam next to her. They were both met at the door by Midas and Maggie who demanded they be petted.

"Hi guys!" Kate was happy to see everyone. "I have news but give me a chance to get cleaned up and change clothes," she asked them and started for the stairs. "We have dinner reservations at your mom's tonight. You have…45 minutes until we have to be at AFTER DARK," Rick called after her. That had Kate silently cursing since she knew it was easily 20 minutes just to get there. She was in and out of the shower in minutes, quickly dried her hair, and put in some curls with a quick use of the curling iron. She found something to wear, added a quick dab of make-up, and she rushed back downstairs. "Ready," she announced.

Rick wrapped his arms around her. "You're so beautiful." And he gave her a quick kiss. The mini hug alone helped her feel better. "Since we have Alexis and Sam tonight we're going to need two cars." He knew his truck wasn't big enough for everyone. "I can drive, just don't lose me," Espo warned.

"You two awake back there?" Kate asked after they were on the road and turned to look at Alexis and Sam. It was late in the day and both of them really should be in bed, not headed for a meal. "I'm fine Mom," Alexis said perking up. "Me too," Sam added. Since Kate didn't see any yawning she took them at their word for now.

"We have a reservation for 8 under Rodgers," Rick told the young woman up front. "Of course Mr. Rodgers, we've been expecting you. Just give us a minute to put the tables together," she advised him and rushed off to do just that with a little help. That was the benefit of having so many tables that seated four. The staff could put them together quickly for larger groups.

They were soon seated and a young woman came to the table. "Hi I'm Cynthia and I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you with drinks?" she asked then took their beverage orders and left.

"This is nice!" Jenny looked around and saw framed art on the walls. "Are those real paintings?" She pointed at the art on the walls. "Those are, thanks to Oscar. He found a little known artist who hadn't made his name yet and got them cheap. Maybe 20 or 30 years from now they'll really be worth something," Kate replied. "They're very nice." Jenny liked them.

"They're really busy here," Lanie noticed. "Mom is doing pretty well at the moment. Oscar brokered a deal with a tour company that takes people over to Mount Rushmore every day. She only gets three of those buses that run daily," Kate informed them.

"She's also going to shoot off fireworks after each University of Wyoming win," Rick said. "Oscar even got her jerseys for the University with her logo on the sleeve. They're up front for sale," Kate added.

"I saw all the cookies up front. Some of those are definitely going home with me," Lanie said happily. She loved cookies. "Especially the one that looks like a tarantula," Jenny remarked with glee.

Their waitress was back and took their dinner orders and left again. "What was that thing she was using?" Kevin was curious. "It's an order tablet. Oscar found it somewhere. She can even show you a picture of a food item on it if you are curious or need to see it. It's state of the art. And it helps Johanna keep track of what's ordered based on what she has in the coolers or dry storage so she knows what is popular and what isn't. If something isn't selling she can change it out for something else. It also helps her determine what to order for deliveries tomorrow," Kate explained.

"Hi Kate, Rick, Alexis." Oscar touched each of them and nodded hello to the others. Johanna had introduced them to him previously at home. "I know this lovely young lady!" Oscar bent down to look at Sam who blushed. "It's so nice to see you Sam," he remarked.

"Hi Sam." A young man wearing all black walked past and waved, getting Sam to smile widely and wave back. "And who was that?" Oscar asked Sam. "My brother," Sam answered his question. "Well, I'll let Jo know that you are here. If she has a moment I'll send her out," Oscar left them to their meal.

"Oscar has done a lot for your mother hasn't he?" Lanie asked. "Mom wouldn't have this restaurant without him. Without him and his help I'm not sure Mom would be as alive as she is now, even after coming out here. He's been good for her." Kate looked where Oscar had gone. It gave Kate a reason to give Oscar a break.

Espo flagged down their waitress. "What kind of bread is this?" He had eaten almost all of it and wasn't the least bit ashamed of it. "It's Russian black bread," she replied. "Can we get more?" he asked, both for himself and the others. "Of course, I'll be right back." And she took the now empty board it had been served on and left and was back moments later with another just like it. "Thank you," Espo said. "You're welcome. Your meal should be out shortly." Then she walked away.

Fifteen minutes later which was 40 minutes after they ordered, she came back out with some of their meals. Sam's brother was also helping her serve. Sam got a pat on her shoulder from her brother as their server refilled their drinks.

"This is really good!" Lanie commented. "I'll say," Kevin added. "How is everything?" Johanna sneaked up on them while they ate. "This is amazing Ms. Beckett," Jenny commented. "This is good too." Espo pointed at his Beef Wellington. "I'm glad you like it. Please call me Johanna or just Jo. You're staying in my house after all. And I'm happy to see you again Sam." Jo bent down to her level. "Your brother is a good worker. Maybe he'll own his own restaurant one day." Johanna stroked her hair. "That isn't seafood is it?" Johanna was still looking out for her and watched Sam shake her head. "Oscar and I will be home really late so don't wait up on us," she warned them.

"Well, I for one am leaving here with some of those cookies," Lanie told her. "And that tarantula cookie," Jenny declared. "Mom, before you go, I want to share what happened to me earlier today. I had lunch with the mayor today which turned out to actually be a campaign funding lunch with people from town. I'm officially running for sheriff."

"That's great honey!" Johanna hugged her daughter and kissed her head. "You're going to win easily sweetheart. I'm proud of you and I know your father would be too." Johanna kissed her again. "Thanks Mom." Kate blinked back tears. "Back to the kitchen. If anything goes wrong let me know and I'll personally fix it." Johanna kissed Kate's head again. "You two be good." Johanna pointed at Alexis and Sam then she went back into the kitchen.

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"Jo's food was so good!" Kevin commented as the others agreed. "And they were busy all night long. I barely saw an empty table," Jenny remarked. "It's a new restaurant and people want to find out what it's like. So long as people can continue to afford to eat out, she should be fine," Lanie added. "If Oscar is as good as it sounds, she'll do fine," Jenny agreed.

"These two are out cold," Kate commented looking back at Alexis and Sam. "It's almost 11:00 pm. They should have been in bed hours ago. Getting Sam up in the morning to go into work with you is going to be a challenge," Rick pointed out. "I know, but it was worth it," Kate said, pleased with how their evening went.

"And I'm proud of you, too, by the way, Ms. Future Official Sheriff of Weston County." Rick smiled and looked at her. Kate blushed. "Thanks. …Are you sure you're okay with this?" she questioned him. He was quite perplexed. "Why would I not be? I still think you can run for mayor and do both jobs at the same time," he replied.

"That's not happening unless you can somehow clone me," she countered. "Ooooo, think of the possibilities. Two Kate Becketts. Two sheriffs, double the safety. Oh, I know! A threesome with two Kate Becketts!" He was grinning while he waited for the reaction he was sure was coming.

"And if you cheat on me with anyone including me, I'll shoot you. Are we clear?" Kate challenged him. "Crystal. …However we are bonded, so technically I can't cheat on you since it would be physically impossible," Rick pointed out. "Which means you can cheat on me with me," Kate countered using his logic. "Well, technically a clone of you would still be you so it might be possible. However since I don't know anyone who can clone anything it's not going to happen," he said laughing.

"And since you're going to live as long as I am, who's to say what we can do a thousand years from now. And it's still not happening or I'll shoot you and do without for the rest of my life," she informed him. "Got it. …Are you tired too?" he asked her looking in the rear view mirror quickly. Kate started smiling. "Not that tired babe."

Kate had given Lanie her key to the house so Kate and Rick waved as they turned right and the others turned left. Rick shortly pulled into his drive and parked the truck. He got out and picked up Alexis. He carried her limp, sleeping body up the steps and into the house then upstairs to her bedroom while Kate carried with an equally heavy Sam. Kate didn't find Sam as heavy as she was expecting.

Both girls were soon tucked into bed with kisses to their heads while Rick and Kate retreated to their bedroom. Each did their best to get the others clothes off of them leaving Midas in Alexis's room and Maggie in Sam's.

Kate woke up in the morning to find herself snuggled up in Rick's arms; he was staring at her. "How long have you been staring at me? It's creepy," she stated. "Just admiring the beauty of my fiancée," he told her. "Hmm," she hummed happily. She liked the sound of that word.

"Have you thought about when or where you want to get married?" he asked her. His question had Kate twisting in his arms so she could look him in the eye. "No, not yet. Are you in a hurry?" She liked being engaged and wanted to enjoy it. "No, no hurry. But some venues can be hard to get depending on where it is or even when," he remarked.

She hadn't thought about it, though Rick had been married once already. "Where did you and Meredith get married?" Kate wanted to do whatever _she_ hadn't done. "We were married in a little church outside of town. It was small with not many people," Rick told her. "Then we're getting married somewhere grand with a lot of people," Kate told him. "And how many is a lot?" he wondered. That had Kate thinking about it. Her friends of course. Roy and his family naturally. Anyone from the sheriff's office that was off work that day. Suddenly she realized that she didn't have that many people to invite. "Maybe 15 or 20." Kate thought that was a pretty small number. "You?" She looked at him.

That left Rick thinking, though in his case he thought out loud. "Serena, Joanne, and anyone from their family they want to bring. Hayley and Allison since they helped us and we owe them. Certainly not my parents." That had Kate stroking his face and feeling sad for him again. She grew up with loving parents while Rick grew up being beaten until he bled. She leaned in to kiss him. "Andrea since she is the Alpha now and maybe her family if they want to come. And Alexis's friends and their families," he suggested.

His list wasn't that big either. Now they just needed someplace everyone could reach that didn't cost them an arm and a leg. "We'll think of something." Kate told him just as the hated alarm clock went off. "I'll start breakfast," he said and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll get the girls into the tub," Kate said as she groaned when she left Rick's arms and rolled out of bed.

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Please tell me that you, the readers, already caught on that Castle was being remade into the new Castle in Newcastle, Wyoming! Was it really that difficult? My beta reader caught on really fast. Why do you think I picked this town?


	58. Chapter 58

**CH58**

Espo and Ryan were gone and at the moment Rick was loading up Alexis, Sam, and the dogs in the truck while Kate had Lanie and Jenny with her in the motorhome. Espo and Ryan had assured everyone that they had had a good time and were happy to meet Rick. Plus they loved his house and all of his toys, especially the quad. Espo had won all the timed races and had gleefully rubbed it in. Especially since he lost all of the other games.

"Okay, are you two ready? Here's the phone so you can call them while we drive. You're sure your mother packed everything you'll need?" Rick looked over at Sam who nodded. "Then let's go camping!" He had Sam up front with him while Alexis was in back with the dogs.

"Ready back there?" Kate asked looking at Jenny who had elected to let Lanie sit up front on the trip out but would sit up front on the way back. "All set," Jenny said though she was a little queasy. "The bathroom is a bit behind you if you feel the need," Kate reminded her. Jenny had been cursing ever since she had gotten up that morning. Just the smell of breakfast had her running for the bathroom. After awhile she had finally managed to keep a little something down. This trip might turn out to be the trip from hell for her. _'Jenny woke up with morning sickness this morning_ _; are_ _you sure this is a good idea?'_ Jenny was Kevin's wife so that made her a part of Kate's family.

' _Never fear, one award_ _-_ _winning bear hug tonight and another in the morning and she'll feel better_ _,_ _'_ Rick promised. _'I thought your hugs only helped mentally_ _?_ _'_ Kate asked him. _'Trust me_ _,_ _'_ he answered.

Kate did, so she started her motorhome and soon saw Rick right across the road in front of her as he and Sam waved wildly getting Kate and Lanie to wave back. They both needed fuel first so it meant going into town so Rick turned left while Kate turned right. After fueling up and doing a bit of shopping they continued on US16 until they reached I-90 then went across it and onto US14. They were headed for Belle Fourche Campground that was located on County Road 110. They had another pair of side by side RV sites with each having a picnic table and a fire ring as well as water, electric, and sewer hook-ups. The sites were mostly level so set-up was a breeze and they were all pass-through so Kate didn't have to spend half an hour trying to get Rick to back his trailer in straight. There was even free firewood in a bin at the office; campers just had to go get it.

The view of Devils Tower, even from the campground, was exceptional. According to a brochure there were a number of trails available to walk. Valley View Trail was 0.5 miles long and just south of the Prairie Dog Town. South Side Trail was 0.6 miles long and just west of Prairie Dog Town and met up with Red Beds Trail that was 2.1 miles long and went all around the Tower. The inner trail around the Tower, Tower Trail, was 1.3 miles long and circled the Tower at its base. Just west of Red Beds Trail was the Visitor Center.

They chose to walk the Valley View Trail that met up with Red Beds Trail for 0.3 miles and then onto South Side Trail that took them back to their campsite. By then they were all tired and hungry. Without Johanna being there this time, it was up to Rick, with Kate's help, to make lunch.

"I don't think…" Jenny was queasy just smelling it. However she soon found herself in a Rick bear hug. "Relax, don't think about it," he soothed and did his best to give her an award-winning hug. Jenny was married and loved her husband, but she was melting into Rick's hug and wanted to stay there for hours. He felt her become less tense and her heart beat slowed while Kate was smiling widely knowing what his hugs could do. "Ready for lunch?" he asked as he let go of her.

Jenny got a different lunch than everyone else. Hers was more bland and free of spices. All she was given were nibble items: carb-rich crackers, dry cereal, and pretzels - all things that Rick had bought in town while getting gas. After that she had freshly sliced watermelon and a Popsicle. All of it went down and stayed down. "I'm taking all of these things home with me," she declared in relief.

"Thank you!" Kate kissed him soundly. "You're such a good man." Then Kate got her own hug that had her melting into him as always. "How did you know?" she questioned him while still being hugged. "Alexis." She deduced that it must have worked for Meredith.

Lanie stepped out of the motorhome after using the bathroom to see Kate wrapped in Rick's arms. She couldn't see her face but her body language told Lanie that Kate Beckett was deeply in love. Maybe this really was a different Kate Beckett after all, one that Lanie had been wanted her to be for years. But oh, how Lanie missed her best friend. Couldn't Kate have fallen in love with someone in New York and not have moved hundreds and hundreds of miles away? Still she knew that Kate had done it for her mom and it had worked out. Lanie resolved to shut-up and not press anymore. Kate finally had what Lanie always wanted for her.

Lanie hadn't realized Jenny stepped in close. "You should try one of his hugs. That man really knows how to give astounding hugs," Jenny told her.

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Rick drove over to the office and threw what firewood he could into the back of his truck then drove back to start the fire for the night in the pit that was in his space. Kate got the marshmallow bag out of the trailer and handed them out to everyone along with the metal coat hangers. "Where's the chocolate and graham crackers?" Lanie complained only to see Kate nod in Jenny's direction. "Oh, right, sorry!" Lanie settled down to roast her marshmallow.

"Mom?" Alexis called and immediately had a marshmallow thrown at her. "Me, too," Sam called, grinning at what was coming. Lanie, however, leaned over towards Kate and asked, "Mom?" Lanie hadn't heard Kate called that during the days they'd been there. "It's kind of a long story. Alexis doesn't really remember her birth mother and I fell in love with her and her with me. There are times when I wish I had been her birth mother. I treat her like she was mine and it was Alexis who asked if she could call me mom. At first I resisted. Being a mom meant…anyway I soon realized that I liked the idea of being her mom so I just went with it." Kate shrugged her shoulders.

"So when can I expect to be a godmother?" Lanie asked. "Someday. I had my IUD taken out a few weeks ago," Kate replied. "You really do love him." For the first time Lanie realized Kate loved him completely.

"I love both of them like I've never loved anyone before. I feel so very different. It's hard to explain..." Kate was interrupted by Rick who was sitting between Alexis and Sam on the far side of her. "Marshmallow?" he asked. Kate picked up the bag and threw two at a time. He couldn't make up his mind which to catch so naturally he dropped both of them, only to have Kate throw two more. One of them got juggled enough that he finally got hold of it and silently placed it on the end of his coat hanger.

Alexis and Sam were laughing while Kate was grinning as Jenny and Lanie watched the dynamics of the two of them. To both of them Kate was definitely in charge which was more like the Kate Lanie was used to seeing.

It was time for Alexis and Sam to be in bed. Jenny and Lanie watched as Kate offered to do it. Kate had them brush their teeth and wash-up then helped them into their pajamas. Sam got into the back bunk bed on one side in the rear of the trailer, while Alexis took the other side with Midas and Maggie sleeping in their crates between them.

"Sweet dreams. Tomorrow we'll get up close and walk around the Tower. After that you're going to be Junior Park Rangers," Kate told them and kissed both of them. "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you." She popped Alexis on the end of her nose with a fingertip, causing her to giggle. "I love you too Mom."

"Sam, sweetie, I'll give you the phone tomorrow and you can call your parents. You've been a very good girl." Kate stroked Sam's hair and kissed her head again. "We'll try to be quiet when the dogs come inside," Kate added then picked up a soda can and a bottle of beer on her way outside only to come back for two glasses of wine.

"How's your stomach?" Kate asked as she handed Jenny a can of ginger ale that Rick had also gotten her. "Amazingly calm. I don't suppose it's the Wyoming air?" Jenny questioned, smiling, only half serious. "Well, it's not filled with car exhaust," Rick pointed out. "Plus you can see the stars," he remarked as he looked up getting everyone else to do the same. "I can see the appeal of living out here but I doubt I could find my job out here," Jenny said.

"My mother gave up being a lawyer and she loved it. She always said that helping people gave her purpose. Now she cooks for hundreds a day," Kate declared.

"Newcastle isn't big enough for me. I prefer working on dead people. How far is it to the biggest town?" Lanie wondered aloud. "Casper is about 2-1/2 hours while Cheyenne is about 3-1/2 hours, Billings is about 4-1/2 hours and Denver is about 5 hours," Rick answered her question. "And how do you know that?" Jenny was impressed. "I've done a fair amount of research to see what's close for camping trips like this one." He thought it was a simple enough explanation.

"How about populations?" Lanie challenged him. "Casper is 49,000 plus; Cheyenne is 62,000 plus; Billings is 166,000 plus while Denver is 663,000 plus," he smiled after he finished.

"Casper is big enough to need an ME," Kate pointed out. "I've hired all the deputies I need but I'm sure Casper could use a couple of homicide detectives." Kate was smiling. Could this actually work?

That got Rick up and into his trailer then back out with his laptop. "What are you doing babe?" Kate asked him and paid no attention to Lanie who repeated the word "babe," only as a question. "This place has free Wi-Fi," he replied and began looking.

" _ **Casper - Approximately 80 sworn officers from the ranks of Patrolman to Captain serve in the operations division working around the clock in the Patrol, Traffic, Investigations, and the Problem Oriented Response Team sections.**_ _"_

" _ **The Intelligence Officer gathers and distributes information about habitual criminals, gang members, and others who are involved in criminal activity.**_ _"_

" _ **The Operations Support Team is made up of Detectives who focus on crime analysis, intelligence gathering, proactive and multi jurisdiction investigation support.**_ _"_

"It says you can apply on-line though the site only talks about new rookie officers, not ones who are already detectives in another city," he read.

To Kate that said they may not have any openings for a homicide detective, and even then they may only have one with only 80 officers compared to over 300 thousand in New York. She was a little dejected, still it was a pipe dream. Unless a certain someone called them. "What about Cheyenne? How big are they?" she asked since it was only an hour farther away.

"Cheyenne Police Department." He shook his head. "Their website doesn't say but it's probably more than 80 with 13,000 or so extra people."

Still it didn't deter Kate as she got up and went into the trailer to make a phone call.

"You've already stolen LT from me, now you want my two best homicide detectives? Do they even know about this?" Roy asked her. "No sir. …Please sir, just a quick phone call from you could tell me if this is even a possibility. I'll leave it up to Kevin and Espo if they even want to consider this after you find out sir. …Please." Kate knew what she was asking. She was stripping her old office of three of its best homicide detectives if she included herself.

Roy moaned. He'd been having such a good day, too. And here he thought it was going to get even better by having Kate call him out of the blue again. "I'll call them," Roy relented. "Thank you sir!" She was almost jumping up and down. "But only after Ryan or Esposito ask me to and if both want to move out there," Roy said, adding a condition for his help.

Kate stopped dancing. He had just blown a pachyderm-sized hole in her plans. Trying to find out if this was even possible was one thing but asking Kevin and Espo to ask Roy was another. "I suppose you want me to lose Dr. Parish also," he asked after she was silent too long. "Now that you mention it sir..." She bit her lower lip and started praying. She listened to Roy moan again. Kate knew she was asking for a lot. "The same condition applies to her as well. And you owe me Beckett, you owe me big," he warned her there would be a price and one day he was going to cash it in.

"And I'll gladly pay it sir. Thank you!" She went back to hopping up and down. Then she ran outside with the phone and handed it to Lanie. "Call Roy and tell him you want him to call Cheyenne, that you are thinking about relocating there," Kate told her. "And then hand it to Jenny so she can call Kevin."

"What have you done girlfriend?" Lanie took the phone but questioned her. "I got Montgomery to use his influence and maybe find the three of you a job in Cheyenne, Wyoming," she offered shyly, considering she had done this without their input. "What makes you think I want to move?" Lanie countered. "Because you've run out of single men in New York City and after Espo moves out here you won't have a choice. And don't you _even_ dare tell me you and Espo aren't back together because I know different." Kate used the information Rick had given her. Lanie quickly did a review of how Kate could possibly know when her eyes fell on Rick and started throwing daggers at him.

"Just because _you_ rejected all the single guys I set you up with doesn't mean _I've_ run out of men," Lanie argued. Kate turned to look at Rick. "Don't even think about it," Kate threatened him. He looked around Kate and mouthed, 'we'll talk later,' to Lanie. "Don't even think about it." Kate could read his lips and directed her threat at Lanie. Still he mouthed, 'we'll talk.'

"Please just call him. You're still one of my best friends and if you don't move, we'll see each other how often? Once a year during Christmas? Or for a birthday? Call him Lanie, please. Jenny's next." Kate shoved the phone into her hand forcing Lanie to take it. Kate was actually astonished, her heart soaring, as Lanie walked off with the phone at her ear. She was gone longer than Kate thought it should take, yet when she came back she handed the phone to Jenny then sat down and said nothing.

Now it was Jenny's turn to walk off, only she wasn't calling Roy. Jenny was calling her husband with Kate's crazy scheme. Jenny took just as long as Lanie had. "Okay, he'll call him but he has a condition. We all come or we don't come at all," Jenny told them. That had Kate even more worried over her crazy idea. A minimum of 3 jobs if not 4. All during a time when the economy was on a downturn and hiring was slowing. Good thing she loved a challenge. "Deal," she told Jenny. "What about Espo?" Kate questioned. "Kevin said he would talk with him about your…idea." Jenny was sure Kate was grasping at straws. Still if this worked they would all be at least close together again and she knew what that meant to Kevin.

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The next day was a walk around the base of the Tower itself. "It's really tall," Alexis pointed out as she looked up. After their walk they went into the Visitor Center. The building itself looked like a log cabin out of the Wild West. It had information screens and a shop. "Dad!" Alexis had found something and she was grinning at him as she pointed.

 _ **Over 20 tribes have a cultural affiliation with Devils Tower. Many tribes have stories about how the Tower was created. Most of the stories talk about a bear using its claws to score the Tower's sides.**_

"Well, I'll be..." He didn't know that. _'Think it's true?'_ he asked Kate who was now reading it. He had his theories but he wanted to hear hers. _'A bear that size simply isn't possible,'_ she stated. _'Neither is a real live dragon,'_ he countered. He was quite pleased to have found a book that talked about it and he bought it to read later. If there was even an ounce of truth in the stories he was going to find it if he had to read the book a hundred times.

Next was the Junior Park Ranger Program that lasted an hour. Junior Park Ranger certificates and badges were distributed upon completion. Rick bought the girls patches that could be sewn into the sleeve of a jacket or coat. Both Alexis and Samantha were positively beaming, very happy with themselves.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying their campsite and playing with Midas and Maggie.

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Rick and Kate volunteered to sleep in the motorhome, while Lanie, Jenny, Alexis and Sam slept in the trailer. This setup allowed Rick and Kate to be alone all night long. Come morning Jenny once again got a preview of what having children would be like since it was up to her to get Alexis and Sam out of bed, into the shower, brush their teeth and get dressed.

Jenny sat outside eating her crackers, dry cereal, and pretzels followed by watermelon and a Popsicle, all of which stayed down.

They walked over to the Prairie Dog Town to watch the prairie dogs popping out of their holes and scurrying across the ground before having lunch followed by driving home. Kate had work in the morning. That same morning Rick and Alexis would take Lanie and Jenny to Rapid City where they'd catch their flight home.

After they arrived home from camping, Alexis and Sam were out back playing on the play set with Midas and Maggie running around them barking, wanting in on the action.

Rick was in the kitchen working on dinner before Sam's parents showed up leaving Kate with Jenny and Lanie in the living room.

"I may have been wrong about your Rick." Lanie looked anywhere but at Kate. "Say that again, please," Kate asked not sure she heard correctly. Lanie turned to look at her. "That man truly loves you."

"And I love him too, Lanie, more than I ever thought I was possible of doing. I was happy, or at least I thought I was, and then Dad died." Kate still felt that pain and feared she always would. "Mom was killing herself grieving for him. I talked her into going to Yellowstone for a vacation. It turned out it was a place she and Dad had never been to but had wanted to visit. It was enough to get her to come."

"While we were there Mom started living again though she was tired a lot. When we came home she began deteriorating once more and I truly feared that I had lost her. It was then that I made a decision. She had come alive outside of New York and it took a trip to Wyoming to get her to live anew," Kate said, trying to justify her rationale.

"But Newcastle of all places?" Lanie questioned. "I thought that if being in a big city made Mom sad then we needed a small city. Since Wyoming worked before maybe it would work again. I looked at a lot of houses spread out all over until I found two or three that I thought would work for us."

"After flying out to visit them I settled on the one across the way. It was Rick who got Oscar to come out, though it pissed Mom off a lot that he had interfered and made decisions for her. Still Oscar has worked out great in giving her back to me. I love Rick for a lot of things and that's just one of them," Kate explained.

"Plus he's a great father," Jenny remarked having watched him with Alexis and Sam. "There is that," Kate said as she smiled and nodded in agreement. And maybe in a few months he would get to prove it to her with their own child.


	59. Chapter 59

**CH59**

Kate had handed over Samantha yet again as they arrived at the station. The women were happy with how Amber was working out which pleased Kate. It had become part of their routine now. It was just over a month since their last camping trip and LT had moved to Newcastle with his girlfriend who was now a partner in a new microbrewery and they were working on designing their first beer together. LT had been on the job for just a few weeks and the office was now fully staffed.

"Thank you Kate," Amber told Kate one more time. "And I told you we're happy to do it so just stop. We adore Sam and so does Alexis. We'll do this as long as necessary," Kate told her.

She was back sitting at her desk when her cell phone rang. "Beckett," Kate responded without looking at the caller ID. "Hi girlfriend." Lanie sounded happy when she answered. "Lanie how are you doing?" Lanie hadn't told her much. "I just got out of my second interview for State Medical Examiner for the State of Wyoming here in Casper. They want to create a State Medical Examiner since only one coroner in the state has any forensic training which means all of the others have to use out of state help. If I accept this position I would be flying out to all of the counties that needed me," Lanie informed her.

All Kate had gotten out of her previously was that she had applied for a job and had gone through phone interviews and one in person interview. "They offered you the job!?" Kate's heart was soaring. Maybe her hairbrained idea just might work. "They offered me the job," she confirmed. "I've got a feeling that Roy had something to do with it," Lanie admitted.

"And?" Kate asked, not hearing what her answer to the offer was. "I told them I would accept if they interviewed Javi for the detective's position," she told her. "They have an opening in the police department?" Kate couldn't believe that. "Not yet. One of their senior detectives is retiring in 6 months and they haven't even started to look for his replacement," she told Kate. "Are they willing to talk to him?" Kate asked. "They said they would call him and arrange for an interview. I told them that as soon as he had his interview I would accept their offer," Lanie said, which told her that Lanie had a lot of faith that Espo would get the job that wasn't even open yet. Kate leaned back in her chair. "What did they say about Kevin?" Just how lucky were they going to get? "They'll only have the one opening and I got the feeling they were thinking of promoting from within," Lanie said.

Kate slumped. Kevin was out and even Espo wasn't necessarily in. Still Lanie was in. "Is there any more good news?" She needed something besides just hope and prayers. She had been living off of that for weeks now.

"Yeah. They made me an offer. They offered me $192,402 annually plus retirement, health and life insurance, plus paid vacation. They're also offering additional pay to cover continuing medical education requirements," Lanie replied. "My god Lanie! Do you have any idea how far that kind of money can go out here?" Kate was shocked. Her salary, if she won the election that was coming up soon, was $95,924. Lanie was going to make almost twice that.

' _Kate_ _,_ _you need to turn on the news, do it now Kate. Right now!'_ She could almost hear Rick yelling at her. _'RIGHT NOW KATE!'_ That got her up out of her chair and into the main room where they had a TV. She brought her cell phone with her so she didn't lose Lanie; she pressed the power button on the TV, watching as the screen filled with information.

At first she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing and hearing. "Anyone else seeing this?" Kate called out into the room. Soon everyone in the office was watching the TV. "Lanie are you anywhere near a TV?" Kate asked. "No, why?" Lanie was in a taxi headed back to her hotel. "Stop somewhere and turn on the TV and watch it. Something has happened, something big."

' _Babe, what's going on?'_ Kate wasn't making much sense of what she was seeing. That was until she watched what must be a live broadcast as the first World Trade Tower collapsed down onto itself. "OH MY GOD!" someone in the office called out.

' _They're saying that planes crashed into each of the World Trade Towers while another plane has crashed into the Pentagon,'_ he explained. "I have to go Lanie. Just get to a TV and call me back," And she hung up.

' _What the hell is going on babe!?'_ Kate asked him. _'I'm not sure I know myself. Just keep watching and they'll show you as a plane literally crashed into one of the towers. Other than that they aren't saying much,'_ he replied.

They all watched as the news network played the collapse over and over again and spent a lot of time talking about it. It was almost an hour later and they all watched as the second tower collapsed much like the first one. Kate, Greta, and Robert, who was still in the office, were handling it better than the women in the office who were crying.

Kate's cell phone rang again. "Beckett." She knew if it was a call needed local help it would have come in on the land line, not her cell phone. "My god Kate!" It was Lanie and she had seen what they had now seen several times. Kate and Lanie talked for almost an hour. "Do you know anything about Espo or Kevin?" Kate asked her. "No, I've just been watching," Lanie admitted shakily. "Hang on I'm going to call Roy," Kate advised her.

She was back with Lanie quickly. "Roy said everyone from all the precincts is out there doing what they can. He wishes you were there since he is anticipating hundreds if not thousands of bodies. He told me they are going to ground all flights for an indefinite time. So you're stuck where you are or I can send Rick to come get you. It isn't really that far, I'm sure he'd be willing to come get you," she offered and wrote down the name of her hotel. "Expect him in about 2-1/2 hours. You can stay with us till the planes are flying again," she told her then hung up and called Rick to tell him her offer.

"I'll have to leave the dogs so you need to come home earlier than normal. It's going to take about 5 to 6 hours round trip. Alexis and I will be on the road in a few minutes," he advised her as he yelled for Alexis. "I'll come home to let the dogs out before going back to the office, just go get Lanie. And stay safe babe, I love you." Kate hung up. "Matt, Greta, I want you two out into town and make sure everyone sees you. Hit your lights and siren from time to time just to show them that you're there," she ordered. "Call if you need me and I'll join you. I have a few phone calls to make." She headed for her office. "Leave the TV on in case they say something we should know," she called over her shoulder.

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Rick pulled up and parked at the hotel where Lanie was staying. With Alexis in tow, he went inside and found her sitting in the lobby sipping a drink with her luggage piled next to her. "Hi Lanie!" Alexis reached her first. "Hi Alexis. You two really didn't have to drive all the way up here. I could have just waited until I could fly out," Lanie told Rick as he picked up her bags and started walking out to the truck leaving her no choice but to follow him. "And let you eat hotel food and sleep on a hotel mattress that other people have done who knows what on for who knows how long? Guess again! Besides, we'll all feel better if we know where you are," he countered. "Have you heard anything else?" she inquired. "Roy isn't answering his phone anymore; I got a continuous busy signal the last time I tried reach him." He was sure she meant her friends, not what happened. "Here call Kate and ask her what she knows." He handed over his satellite phone.

"Hi Kate. How are you holding up?" Lanie asked her. "Our 911 phone is supposed to be for emergencies but you wouldn't believe what people think is an emergency now. Most of them are just scared. The sooner they figure out what happened and tell the rest of us the sooner everyone will calm down. Sloan did have the day off but I called him in to be in town with Matt and Greta. Mike and Robert are out on patrol while LT is assigned to the night shift," Kate explained. "We've had the TV on all day," she added.

"Don't forget the dogs," Rick yelled so Kate could hear him. "I heard him and I'm leaving in a minute. Just get here Lanie and I'll feel better." She ended the call and informed the office that she was going home to let the dogs out and would be back as soon as possible. "Give me about an hour."

Kate was met at the door by two very happy dogs. "Hi Midas, Maggie, come on outside." She left the front door open and walked outside with them. Fifteen minutes later she locked them back inside the house and headed back to the office. It was when she got there that she saw something she hadn't been expecting for at least another 2 weeks. Not only that, but each driver had the two Rams off the top of one car hauler and the two Durangos off the top of the other. All of them were painted and said Sheriff of Weston County on the side. They even had bumper guards and lights.

"The new cars are here ma'am." Elizabeth sounded and looked happy, even if she wasn't getting one. Though she may get a chance to use one of the Rams that would be staying at the office most days. "I see that. Go have dispatch call in Matt, Greta, and Sloan. Let's get the new computers installed in them and get our deputies back out there. They're probably going to need to get gas for them, too." Kate was betting there was just 2 gallons in each of them. "Yes, ma'am." And Elizabeth ran inside. "They look great!" Elizabeth yelled the second she opened the door. Kate watched as the four Intrepids and two PT-Cruisers came off the trucks and looked at them all lined up as she smiled. Her office was really coming together.

They had gone through the discomfort of having all of the walls opened up to have the pink insulation removed and watched panels go into the walls that were thinner than the ones that were already on the roof. After that came new drywall and paint. The contractor had filled a dumpster with what he had taken off of their roof. The price had gone up a little when he found that all of the plywood panels sitting on the roof joists had to be replaced due to rot. Plus he had to sister several of the roof beams due to rot. It would have been better, but more costly, to remove and replace them so he simply sistered new wood to the old wood. All of the women now had high hopes that the office would be more comfortable this winter than the previous ones.

Matt and Greta showed up first with Sloan a few minutes behind them. "Sloan you have seniority so you have first choice. One of the PT-Cruisers has already been set up as a K-9 unit for Mike. The Rams will remain at the office for now until we get snow. The new computers have been installed in them and are just like the ones in the office. The keys are already in the vehicles so take your pick," Kate told him. Much to her surprise Sloan took one of the Intrepids. She had been so sure everyone would want a Durango.

They watched as he transferred everything from his old trunk and put it in the new one.

"It's sitting on empty," Sloan rolled down his window and called out. "You have your work credit card; pray you make it to the closest gas station and get back out there. Matt, you're next," Kate told him. Next would be Robert but he was out on patrol so what Matt chose was critical.

Matt took another of the Intrepids and like Sloan, found the gas gauge sitting on empty. He drove to the closest gas station to join Sloan. "Looks like you have your choice Greta. Pick what you want then go get gas and get back out there," Kate told her. She watched as Greta took the first of the two Durangos loaded it up like the others and left. Kate went back inside. "Get Robert on the radio and ask him what he wants. He still has his choice out of the three types. Then someone call LT and have him come in and swap out his car for a new one," Kate instructed and headed for her office. She had two Intrepids, a Durango, and a PT-Cruiser left along with the two Rams.

Kate had one final campaign event to do tomorrow which was a BBQ luncheon for everyone in town that chose to show up and support her bid to be elected sheriff. The actual vote would take place the day after. It was just her and a police officer that had come up from Cheyenne to run for the position. A candidate from Casper and one from Rapid City had already bowed out and were gone.

There was a knock on her doorframe. "Robert said he would take one of the Intrepids," Elizabeth told her. That just left LT who still had his choice of vehicles and wouldn't get stuck with what was left. He eventually came in and took the last Durango. "It's yours LT, but before you go I want you to help me strip the old cars of everything. Computers, lights, and everything else that's in them," Kate asked him. "The guys and Greta have already taken everything out of the trunks so this should be easy."

It took them a couple of hours and she and LT spent part of the time talking about the twin towers and how he felt conflicted about being there instead of New York. He should be there helping. "I know how you feel LT. I still have friends there too, and I have to wonder what they're going through. My calls aren't going through to Montgomery; I can only guess that they're really busy," Kate replied feeling frustrated herself.

Soon their storage room was partially filled with what they wanted off the old cars. LT went back home to get some sleep since he would be up all night. Kate now knew that the last Intrepid would be their back-up car for when one of the others needed maintenance or was involved in a crash and the last PT-Cruiser would be hers. She just had to get her Jeep back home for her to drive it. The next day the car haulers loaded up the old cars and left. "Good riddance!" Kate proclaimed as she, Sloan, and Greta watched them leave.

She got home late and asked Rick to drive her back so she could pick up her new PT-Cruiser. He was in the kitchen cooking leaving Lanie and Alexis in the living room. "What did you think of the job?" Kate asked her. "The job itself is a dream come true. A real State Medical Examiner. I'll get sent all over Wyoming for all of the dead bodies. They're even buying a used twin turbo prop to get me there if commercial flights aren't available," Lanie explained in a little more detail. "Frequent flyer miles," Kate teased.

"So what are your thoughts about everything?" Kate asked her. "I'm a big city girl and being out here isn't the big city. How did you do it?" Lanie questioned her. "I'm not sure I can help you there. I came out here because of Mom, plus I have Rick." Kate wasn't sure she was a good example. "I suppose the question for you is, is the job enough to get you to move? You're an ME in an NYPD precinct and you're not the only one. Out here you'll be in charge of an entire state and with your salary... Hang on a minute." She got up to go into the kitchen and then ran upstairs. When she came back down she had Rick's laptop with her. "Casper real estate," she said mostly to herself with Lanie sitting right next to her while Alexis was off playing with the dogs. Amber had today off so no Sam to take care of.

 _ **3670 Placid Drive, Casper Wyoming, 82604**_ _. 3,246 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, with a 2 car garage, 2 floors. Hardwood floors, baseboard heating._ "I don't know about that kitchen." Lanie didn't much like it. It was country kitchen white. "Oscar can fix that. Just look what he did with Rick's kitchen." Kate was sure Oscar could fix that easily. "Fireplace, lots of windows. I think I see an AC unit in the wall." Kate pointed at it. Lanie stopped Kate. "WOW!" Lanie saw the office that had one wall of bookshelves with cabinets below. "It's just what you need Lanie," Kate agreed. "WOW, look at that basement. Is that another refrigerator?" Kate asked. "What are they hiding using that dropped ceiling?" Lanie wondered. The last two pictures were of the deck and backyard. "$295,000?" Lanie was amazed at the cost. "I told you your money went further out here," Kate reminded her.

 _ **22212 Lake Ridge, Casper Wyoming, 82620**_ _. 3,103 square feet. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with 2 car garage, 2 floors. Hardwood floors, forced air with AC._ "The kitchen is nicer though I'm not sure about the black appliances," Lanie said hesitantly. "That's a stupid place for a fireplace. In front of windows?" Lanie questioned. "I'm betting it's electric and why have windows when you would want doors to take advantage of that large deck?" Kate mused. Still that could be fixed. "$395,000," Kate added. "It would appear that I'd only have one neighbor nearby. Is that a propane tank?" Lanie asked. "Propane is what you get if you're too far out of town and this place looks like it is," Kate indicated. "Dinner ladies. Find Alexis and we can eat," Rick called.

Lanie would find out later that at her salary she would be approved for a home in the $845,000 range.

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"Now what?" Joanne asked Serena as they got ready for the day in their bathroom. "I wish I knew, I really do. I mean, who would have guessed that Paladin is based in India of all places? We only have contracts in the States and nothing in a foreign country. Plus the Osprey simply doesn't have the range. I wouldn't even make it across the Atlantic before crashing and sinking." Serena didn't know what to do either.

"We've finally found the head of the snake and we can't do anything about it." Joanne threw the razor she was using to shave her legs into the tub and sat down on the edge and put her face in her hands with her elbows on her knees. Serena got down on her knees in front of her fiancée and took her hands in hers. "We'll think of something; we've come too far to give up now. We almost have them! After all this time and the people we've lost, I'm not giving up yet," a determined Serena said fiercely.

"How? We can't reach them with what we have. I don't think you're jet accredited even if we had one or even stole one. Even some of the shifters we know about along the coast barely have a handful of boats between them and couldn't make it across the Atlantic either," Joanne pointed out the obvious. "We can't be done, we just can't. Come on, get dressed and meet me downstairs for breakfast. Maybe we can brainstorm something with the others. We'll get them, I don't yet know how, but we will." Serena kissed her head and started to walk about before hurrying back to give her a real kiss and walked naked out of the bathroom and into the closet to find something to wear. She was almost finished when Joanne walked in to do the same.

"Have you thought about where you want to get married?" Serena questioned her to take her mind off of it. Joanne only shook her head as she pulled out a pair of panties and a bra. Serena wrapped her arms around her. "We'll think of something, we have to." Serena kissed her head and left to go down to the kitchen. "Hurry up and join us," she called over her shoulder.

Joanne found her breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, cereal and juice waiting for her and joined the others at the dining room table. "India, any suggestions?" Serena asked all of them.

"Can we steal a jet? A corporate long distance jet maybe. Surely we have someone somewhere who is qualified to fly it," one of them proposed. "Sarah?" Serena called out. "Negative, no one at this time."

"How much money do we have? We could buy a yacht. How hard could it be to sail one over there?" someone else asked. "Distance from Florida which is the most likely place to purchase one that is for sale that has the range is 9,616.5 miles. The 191 foot superyacht _Unbridled_ is available for purchase at $45 million. Its 34,000 gallon tank will allow it to travel 7,000 miles on a single tank," Sarah stated. "So we stop somewhere and refuel," he shrugged. "Except we don't have $45 million. We only have $30,000,000 plus." Serena shot that plan down. She had been combating Paladin instead of going out and making them more money.

"Is there one of those supersecret orbital laser devices in orbit that we could take over and use it to fire on them?" another asked. "It was just a thought," he said petulantly, defending himself after the looks he got.

"So we can't fly and we can't sail. Do we have contacts in the military that are on a boomer? Have them launch something big at them?" a voice asked. The silence answered her question.

"Maybe little green men from Mars will attack and single them out for destruction," someone said offhandedly. "They're grey with big black eyes and they're _not_ from Mars. Why would they only attack them anyway?" one of the guys shot him down.

Serena, however, dropped her spoon into her cereal. "Not green, definitely not grey, and certainly not small, but she is big and purple!" Serena thought she had the answer.

"Detective Beckett!? Why would she help us and expose herself like that ?" Joanne questioned her. "Let's find out." Serena said hopefully.


	60. Chapter 60

**CH60**

It turned out that Lanie had to stay with Rick and Kate for five days before she could get a flight out of Rapid City back to New York. To make things easier Rick had gone into town and bought a twin bed. He set it up in Alexis's room for Sam to sleep in so that Lanie didn't have to shuffle between Johanna's house and theirs. Alexis was even excited for the moment at least to have Sam sleeping in her room. Rick was sure they were conspiring with each other to stay up way past their bedtime.

Oscar still hadn't gone home yet and Kate was questioning her mother about him. "I always thought of Jim as being my one and done. But I care about Oscar, I care about him a lot and I think I'm falling in love with him. Please give him a chance Katie. He's not trying to replace your father. We've already talked about it and he actually doesn't want you to call him dad. He said you had just one dad, that he's simply a friend." Johanna didn't want Kate to hate him or resent him or her.

"You're certain it's not because of what he has done for you and the restaurant?" That was Kate's single biggest fear. "I'll admit that _is_ part of it, but it's not the only reason. Would you believe me if I told you we go out riding almost daily? Oscar's found an architect who's designing stables for him and a storage shed or two along with a fenced area. He wants to adopt horses that will be rescues. He'll either keep them until they are sold to a good home or they'll stay here for their last few years," Johanna told Kate something she didn't know. It also meant he would need a truck and a horse trailer.

"Did you know he has another architect working on a complete redesign of the house? We're going to live upstairs with it as is during the construction on the first floor that will turn it into his kitchen business. When that's done, the second floor will be gutted and redesigned. He's thinking the whole project will take 2 years," Johanna said, informing Kate of their plans.

"Where are you going to live?" No second floor and the first will be business. "Oh, the first floor is going to have a small apartment and the business. Oscar is thinking of renting out the first floor apartment to someone who will help with the horses. We're going to use it while the second floor is under construction." Johanna had an answer for that question, too.

"And Oscar? What about his business in New York and his apartment?" Kate queried. She didn't know what else Oscar had there. Perhaps a car or maybe he owned other real estate.

"He isn't selling out to his partners. They've agreed to have a one man satellite business and have him come into the office only when necessary. His apartment is for sale and he already has 2 offers on it. Neither are for what he wants for it, so he's thinking about it. He hasn't tried selling his car yet so we don't know about it."

"He's planning on flying out to talk to his son and arrange for him to come here for a visit so I can meet him. Did you know he's a shifter also? Another horse. I'm kind of interested to see what he looks like once he's shifted. I wonder if he's gray like his dad or something else?" Even though Johanna gave the appearance of being calm, she was rather nervous about actually meeting him.

"Where is he?" Kate had heard about Michael just not where he resided. "He lives in Ohio and his high school is getting ready soon to defend their championship from the year before. Oscar is proud of him even if he doesn't say it, you can hear it in his voice." Johanna was smiling over how Oscar talked about him.

"Has he proposed?" Kate asked not sure what she wanted her mother to say. "Oh no, we're not even close to that. At least I don't think so." Suddenly Johanna was concerned about what Oscar was thinking. She wouldn't be where she was if he hadn't pushed and waited for her. Was he getting ready to push her again? Kate watched the emotions of her question play on her mom's face.

"When are you and Rick getting married?" Johanna changed the subject. "We're thinking late spring next year or early fall. As to where, we're still working on that. A lot of people don't have the money to go far so places like Hawaii or any other island are out. We're trying to stay close enough for people to drive which limits our options."

"What are you and Oscar doing today?" Kate knew the restaurant was closed today. Kate's question reminded Johanna to check the time. "Oh, goodness! I have to get going. I'm meeting Oscar and all of my employees at the restaurant. Today is our monthly cleaning day. He wants us to scrub everything including the floors until they shine. We got a 98.5 on our health department check and he wants to get that 100 next time," Johanna told her.

"How's the restaurant doing, really?" Kate was hoping for the best. "Business has slowed some in the last week. We've actually had a few empty tables lately. I dumped one of the entrees since it wasn't selling and replaced it with something else. Those buses that Oscar arranged for are what's saving me at the moment," she had to admit. "Provided it doesn't get any slower he thinks we're still on course to make $3.5 million my first year. And I haven't lost any of my employees yet." Johanna smiled at that.

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Serena had been cursing and had been quite testy for the last few days. The FAA had grounded every plane for the last few days in the wake of the terrorist attacks. She really wanted to fly out to Rick and Kate's so she could talk to them and hopefully convince Kate to help them. "Will you sit down and relax, please!" Joanne patted the sofa next to her getting Serena to sit next to her allowing Joanne to wrap an arm around her.

"Sorry, I just want to get there and get this over with. We've never been this close before," Serena explained herself yet again. "And a family that big isn't going anywhere soon, if ever. You don't just go down the street and rent a fleet of U-Hauls to move a family that large," Joanne countered.

"Why would anyone want that many wives and children anyway?" Serena shook her head. Suddenly Sarah showed up on the TV that they weren't paying attention to anyway. "I need to speak with you two in private. Please enter the core." And Sarah was gone again.

Sarah's request had both of them perplexed. She had only done that one other time that either of them could remember. Serena had finished installing her $80 million expansion just last week. $80 million that could have gotten them a yacht to reach India. Still Sarah was part of the reason they had gotten this far in their fight against Paladin.

Serena had to place her hand on the reader, followed by a retina scan. Then she had to prick her finger and place a drop of blood on the pad before the door would open. They stepped inside and found themselves surrounded by the real Sarah. "What's up Sarah?" Serena questioned.

"I've been analyzing the data that was downloaded from the Paladin research lab that you destroyed. Using their data I believe that I have something that I can offer the two of you and perhaps others willing to try it," Sarah informed them. "Which is?" Serena wasn't in the mood to play guessing games.

"I think I can give you two the means to bond to each other. You still won't be life mates, but I think I can make you bonded and all that that offers," Sarah announced. "You're really serious?" Joanne asked not believing it was even possible.

"Very. There is a small problem however. As you know, to be bonded you need to exchange bodily chemicals and hormones during orgasm. This actual act takes place in a very short amount of time. I've developed a process where we can extract the chemicals and hormones during an orgasm and transfer them to the other during another orgasm. You two will need to be in heavy contact with each other during each orgasm as one or more likely two people will administer the chemicals and hormones during an orgasm," Sarah apprized them.

"Meaning we need to make love to each other and reach orgasm twice while in the presence of two other people." Serena tried to simplify what Sarah was saying. "Correct. You will need to choose two people whom you trust to retrieve the samples and administer the samples at the right moment. Be advised that in each case the timing must be perfect. If either attempt fails you will have to start all over again," Sarah warned them. "Meaning we may have to make love to each other several times in front of two people." Joanne closed her eyes. She was only too happy to hold and kiss Serena in public, but to have two of their friends watch them make love and extract these chemicals most likely several times was almost too much to even consider.

"Make love to each other in front of our friends," Serena mentioned while rubbing Joanne's arms. "Most likely several times," Joanne added. "What do they need to do to extract these chemicals?" Serena asked as they both listened to Sarah explain the process.

Serena leaned her forehead up against Joanne's. Their friends weren't just going to watch, they were going to have to practically participate to be able to extract the samples in the short amount of time they had to work with. And they needed to go shopping for the proper equipment to make this work.

She looked into Joanne's eyes; neither was willing to ask it of the other. "Which of our friends do we ask?" Joanne inquired which had Serena smiling and kissing her. "Would it help if we used someone who already had medical experience?" Serena asked and got an affirmative from Sarah. "We need to go shopping and talk to them," Serena mentioned hoping Joanne knew who she was thinking about. "We're going to owe them yet again," Joanne pointed out.

Serena and Joanne flew to Lee and Francine's home and took a DVD of the procedure with them for them to watch and get ready for. After that they went into Phoenix to go shopping for what they needed.

Lee and Francie agreed and accepted. Then they readied the room they had used previously for this new project. Serena made a call back home to inform the others how long they would be gone and they were ready.

Serena and Joanne were naked while Lee and Francine were all gowned up with what they needed in hand with the rest of the equipment off to one side. _'_ _This is going to be so embarrassing_ _,'_ Joanne thought to herself. Their making love to each other was a private thing between the two of them. Now they were about to make love to each other while two almost strangers watched them.

Serena and Joanne were tired after making love to each other for the third time; Lee and Francine suggested they take a break. Serena and Joanne found that once they got into each other, Lee and Francine were forgotten. It was Lee's and Francine's timing that was proving to be the problem. Sarah had warned them that they wouldn't know if it had worked until 24 hours had passed. It was just that Lee and Francine were certain that they hadn't gotten the timing correct yet. All four were willing to admit that this was a terribly embarrassing moment in their lives.

Lunch, followed by sleep for all of them, followed by dinner which was then followed by three more attempts. Needless to say Serena and Joanne were tired, while coping with the almost overwhelming tension had left Lee and Francine exhausted.

They were all up at breakfast. "Do we try again? It hasn't actually been a full 24 hours since the last attempt. Or do we wait until tomorrow? How are you two feeling?" Francine asked them. "Besides being more embarrassed than I've ever been in my life, I feel fine," Serena replied, answering her question as Joanne nodded in agreement."What you two are attempting is the definition of love. I can't think of anything else that even approaches the true meaning," Francine said gently.

They elected to wait until tomorrow to allow Serena and Joanne time to recover before making love to each other again. Joanne was showering while Serena waited her turn since it was too small to share. _'Please let it work this time,'_ Joanne prayed silently. Suddenly the tiny shower door flew open with a naked Serena standing there. "I heard you! Do it again," Serena insisted excitedly. _'I love you with all of my heart. It's why I'm doing this_ _,_ _'_ Joanne thought. _'I love you that much, too,'_ Serena responded showing her that she heard it. She stepped into the shower to wrap her arms around a wet Joanne and kissed her.

It was hours later. Serena and Joanne had thanked their hosts and told them to hold onto the equipment in case they found another couple that was willing to try the procedure. Lee and Francine had hugged each of them and were thrilled that after going through everything, it had worked.

Their next stop was Rick and Kate's home. Hopefully followed by killing off Paladin. _'Think she'll do it?'_ Joanne asked, trying to get used to talking like this. _'If she doesn't we're back to square one. I, for one, am willing to do whatever she asks of us_ _,_ _'_ Serena commented.

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Kate had the day off as well as the next two though she was thinking of going back in tomorrow anyway. She still had to go in to pick up Sam and bring her home since her day off didn't coincide with Amber's. Amber had offered to drop off Sam but Kate really did want to come in even if it only was for just an hour.

Everything was finally done at the office. She had a full staff, new cars, new computers, new office equipment, a new roof and new walls for the office itself. She was even the new Weston County Sheriff. She had won the election by a remarkably wide margin. Her competition had done best mostly with people in town while he got none of the votes outside of town. Kate attributed it to her time spent patrolling in her hunk of junk, driving all over the county when Dahl was sheriff. It didn't hurt that the mayor and several of the major people in the city had backed her.

It also didn't hurt that she had an anonymous donation of $10,000 to her campaign. Kate had a really good idea where that money had come from but she let Rick keep his secret. Still she loved him just a little more because of it. Most men would shy away from a woman like her and the job she did. Rick, however, pushed her to keep the job and had encouraged her to run for sheriff. That told her a lot.

Right now she was using his laptop to look for a wedding venue. She had rejected Casper and Cheyenne and was now in Denver. She reasoned that Denver was close enough for people to drive to. For those that worried about the cost of a hotel, Rick and Kate were willing to offer the use of their trailer and her mother's motorhome to them. Rick and Kate just had to drive them out there. Kate was going to go to Denver to go dress shopping, too.

Rick and Alexis were outside playing bear games again. Alexis was really learning to like being a bear even though she remembered what Meredith had said about her. Kate sort of wished she was out there with them too and her dragon had tried to get her to go join them. It was just that her dragon was so big and it was still daylight out there.

Kate was taking notes as she went from site to site. She had already rejected so many places and only had one on her list so far so she kept looking.

 _ **Secret Window in Monument, Colorado**_. It wasn't that big and they could easily handle the small number of people they were expecting outside if the weather was nice enough that day.

 _ **Mile High Station in Denver, Colorado**_. It was big enough to hold 1,200 people which was about 1,000 more than they would have coming. Hell, it would be a miracle if they made it past 100. Still they could also handle smaller groups, so Kate kept it on the list.

 _ **Wedgewood on Boulder Creek in Boulder, Colorado**_. It was outdoors next to a stream or inside under a billowing silky white tent if it was raining. Maximum of 250 people so it was high on Kate's list just for that.

 _ **South of Colfax Nightlife District in Denver, Colorado**_. Initially Kate had liked the first picture she saw, then it turned into a giant setting that could easily hold hundreds. It wasn't until she found that they also had a rooftop venue that was far less formal and held a lot less people that it had piqued her interest. It went on her list just for that reason. The Church, Club Vinyl, City Hall Events Center, The Funky Buddha Lounge, Bar Standard, Milk, and The Living Room.

Kate was just starting to move onto the next search when something loud went over the house. It startled both her and the dogs who got up off the floor to guard her. All three of them went over to the wall of windows where they watched an Osprey land in the backyard again.

' _Babe, Serena is here. She just landed in the backyard out past Alexis's playset_ _,_ _'_ Kate called out to him. She wondered what Serena wanted now. _'We'll be right there_ _. G_ _ive us about 30 minutes and have the hose ready_ _. H_ _aving some clothes would be nice_ _,_ _too_ _,_ _'_ he told her. His request had Kate hurrying upstairs to gather clothes for both of them then she went outside with the dogs to wait for Serena and anyone who came with her.

Soon both Midas and Maggie were growling, protecting Kate since she was part of the family now. "Easy, just keep calm you two." She scratched the spot behind their ears. When they caught a whiff of Serena and Joanne they calmed down a lot.

"What can I do for you?" Kate asked them after they get close enough. "We came to ask you for a favor. Is Rick home?" Serena said to her. Kate shook her head. "Rick and Alexis are out playing bear games. They'll be here soon though." She escorted them upstairs. "Can I get you something to drink? We have beer, wine, soda, water, orange juice, and milk." Kate tried to think if there was anything else they had. "Wine would be nice, thank you," Serena replied. They were at the wall of windows looking out onto the small valley that her Osprey was sitting in. "They're out there somewhere. You should be able to see them coming from here," Kate told them and sipped her glass of wine.

"Can I ask what it is you want?" Kate inquired. "We want to ask for your help with something. We're thinking you might be our only chance," Serena responded and Kate remained silent until Rick got there.

It wasn't long before they all saw a really large bear loping toward the house with a much smaller bear running like mad to keep up. Kate went downstairs with the hose in hand, waiting for them. _'Did they say what they want?'_ Rick asked while Kate hosed down Alexis before sending her inside. "Only that they wanted to ask for a favor from me," she answered and switched to hosing Rick down.

It took time for Rick to shower and get dressed before they went back upstairs to greet their guests. "What brings you two to our home?" he questioned them and saw Serena eye Alexis and took her hint. "Pumpkin, how about you take the dogs and their favorite stuffed toy outside and play with them? I'm sure they missed playing with you while we were gone," he suggested. "Okay Dad." And Alexis was off calling the dogs to her and was gone.

"We have news and a favor we want to ask. First of all, we've figured out a method for a shifter to bond with another person. Joanne and I finished the process yesterday," Serena began. "You two are bonded now?" Kate asked in amazement. "What about life mates?"

"We're simply bonded and all that that entails," Joanne answered. She wished Serena was her life mate, but being bonded to her was enough and so much more than she had ever dreamt was possible. "We can do this for others also," Serena pointed out. "However, be advised it is extremely invasive and can be very, very embarrassing." Serena tried to smile her blush away remembering what they had been forced to do to be bonded.

"And the favor?" Kate inquired. Serena scooted forward on the sectional where she and Joanne were sitting. "Your Colonel Pike presented us with a fair amount of information after we picked him up. We found out just who Paladin is and where he's based," she told them.

"That's good isn't it? Now you know who and where and can do something about it, right?" Kate questioned. "Therein lies our problem. His name is Ziona Chana. He happens to have over 30 wives and over 80 children last anyone knew. There's probably more of both by now," Serena said. "He lives in the hills of Baktwang village in the Indian state of Mizoram," Joanne added.

"India! Seriously?" Rick was shocked. What was some guy who had way too big of a family doing mounting genocidal operations in the States? Did he really hate all shifters that much?

"We've done a lot of work since we found out and have no way to reach him. My plane only has a range of 700 miles and he's thousands of miles from here. We've discussed buying a superyacht that had the range to reach even close to there, but I don't have the funds for that," Serena said to them.

"If you're looking for money, I don't have that much either," Rick pointed out. He had shared with Kate just how much money he did have after she brought it up. Kate hadn't been surprised that to her way of thinking, he was rich. What she had pointed out was that his new contract with the publisher in Los Angeles was far more lucrative than the one he had had with Black Pawn. In her eyes Black Pawn had been making millions off of him while paying him peanuts. Sure he'd made millions with Black Pawn, but his one contract for 3 books with his new publisher was millions more than what Black Pawn had paid him for all of his books combined. While what they had done wasn't illegal, it _was_ unethical. Kate had been pissed as hell and had entertained her dragons idea of flying to Black Pawn and breathing on the place.

When Rick had purchased Johanna's building and land for her, he had actually spent a third of the money he had on hand. Kate had been both angry at him for that and loved him just that much more. All at the same time.

"And this concerns me how?" Kate wanted to get to the point. "We want you to go there and destroy his house and everyone in it. Well, you in your dragon form that is," Serena told them. "With a family that large we doubt that only the husband is in charge."

"Fly in broad daylight and kill everyone in the building, including however many innocent children there are!?" Kate hated their idea on the spot.

"Fly, most likely. In broad daylight, I would sincerely hope not. I don't suppose you know how to swim as a dragon?" Serena inquired hopefully. "Excuse us." And Kate took Rick's hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

"What does your dragon think?" was his first question. _'We can do this. We can even breathe under water so we_ _w_ _on't need to fly that much. We'll need a place to rest before coming back, but we can do this,'_ her dragon told her. "She says we can do this. But they're asking me to kill children, Rick." That was the part Kate was having the most problem with. He had sent killers after Alexis. That alone was enough for her to go there.

"Research - when are they in school there? Maybe they're not out of school like they are here," he suggested. He could see her thinking. "You're going to have to fly at some point. If the kids are at school it's going to be daylight. If you did it at night you would have the benefit of the darkness but the kids would be home," he pointed out.

"What do you want most Kate? What would satisfy your concerns over having children there?" he asked her. Was her concern over children too much? If she didn't go, Paladin would rebuild and start killing shifters all over again. Probably even come after Alexis again. "What happens if you miss all of the children? Do they grow up hating shifters that much more and want to extract revenge?" Rick questions her. Start all of this all over again just years down the road.

"Fine, but I want concessions," she insisted and marched back into the room where Serena and Joanne were waiting, looking out of the wall of windows. "I'll do it with these concessions. First, Rick and I plan it. I'll go after we're sure we've thought of everything. Second, I want you to offer to my mother and Oscar what you two have done and help them if they agree," Kate told them. "It only works if one of them is a shifter," Serena cautioned her. "Oscar _is_ a shifter. Third, I want your help getting Javier Esposito, a homicide detective out of the 12th precinct in New York City, a detective position that is opening in Casper in 6 months. He already has an interview coming up but I want your help for him to get it. Whatever that help is. Fourth, I want your help to find Kevin Ryan, a homicide detective out of the 12th precinct in New York City, a detective position somewhere near here. We already know Casper only has the one opening, but maybe somewhere else close to Casper like Cheyenne perhaps, has an opening," Kate concluded.

"I'm detecting a pattern here. Give us a minute." This time Serena escorted Joanne into the kitchen. "Think they'll go for it?" Rick asked Kate who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Do we even have contacts in Casper or Cheyenne?" Joanne questioned. "Unfortunately no, at least not those kinds of contacts. However we do have contacts in New York City and Washington DC that could send strongly worded letters of recommendation for both of them. I'm betting the others that apply for the same positions won't have them," Serena pointed out. Joanne immediately knew just who she was thinking of. Letters like those just might get herself hired let alone someone who was already a detective.

"And her mother?" Joanne asked. "Kate said offer it, not talk her into doing it. Offering what we did is easy," Serena responded. "And allowing Rick and Kate to plan it alone without us?" Joanne questioned since they had all of the information and had done a lot of planning up to this point. "Sarah downloaded what we have on a DVD; we can leave it with them. It's her life she'll be risking," Serena reminded her. Joanne nodded and both of them went back into the living room.

"We have a deal. I'll leave you the DVD we brought that has everything about him and the location that we have and we'll explain the process to your mother and this Oscar before we leave," Serena told them.


	61. Chapter 61

**CH61**

Rick and Kate drove Serena and Joanne across the street to her mom's house so that they could talk to them about the process.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Beckett. When Kate was a detective in New York City she helped me a lot when my mother was murdered," Joanne explained as she gave Johanna a quick hug.

Serena moved on to speak about why they were here, explained about the process to bond her and Oscar to each other and what that meant. "Jim told me a little about bonded life mates, but he told me I wasn't his. That didn't stop him from loving me though. So if we do this we'll be able to talk to each other without actually speaking aloud?" Johanna tried to make sure she understood.

"That and the two of you will be attuned to each other. If one of you is in mortal danger the other will feel it and be able to act on it. Hopefully be able to rescue you before something dreadful happens. They will also know exactly where you are at the time," Serena explained. Being a life mate would have given them other benefits.

"Keep in mind this process is very invasive and it will be embarrassing in the extreme," Joanne warned them and walked them through exactly what she felt when she and Serena did it. "So you two have already done this?" Oscar spoke for the first time and both she and Serena nodded.

"How long does it take?" Because of the restaurant's hours they had a time crunch. They were told how long it took them. "I suppose if they could wait and fly us down there at night after we close, we could do it. Do this the next day, rest that night, and do it again the next morning then have them fly us home whether it works or not. We wouldn't have to close for a day." Johanna tried to plan this out.

Her words had Oscar up with his arms wrapped around her. "You're truly willing to do this for us?" he asked her since he already knew his answer. To hell with privacy. "I'm not thrilled about making love to you however many times we can while two strangers watch, but yes, I'm willing," she told him. "Could be worse. Could be Kate and Rick watching instead of two complete strangers," Oscar teased as he grinned at her. "Oooo, that's really sick Oscar!" And it earned him a wack to his chest, though she was grinning.

It meant Serena and Joanne had to stay with Johanna and Oscar for three days until the evening before the restaurant was closed again. However it also meant Serena and Joanne were introduced to the marvelous deliciousness of Johanna's cooking.

Kate called Espo and Kevin to tell them that she had found someone who was going to provide letters recommending that they get the jobs. She didn't know who these people were but she left that part out. She just hoped that whomever they were they had some influence and that the interviewer didn't ask Espo or Kevin too much about them since the guys wouldn't know anything.

Kate also called Lanie to tell her what she had done for the two of them and asked if she had selected a home to purchase. "I've put in an offer for the first one even though I hate the kitchen," Lanie told her. "I'll talk to Oscar who can come out to look at it after you purchase it. I'm sure he can design exactly what you want," Kate assured her. "It'll be great to have you only a 2-1/2 drive away instead of having to fly to see you. We can come up over a weekend even." Kate was really looking forward to that. "And I'll have 4 bedrooms so there'll be plenty of room," Lanie said excitedly.

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Oscar and Johanna had just flown away with Serena and Joanne to make their way to an area outside of Phoenix. For Serena it meant doing engine maintenance in Lee and Francine's backyard while they worked with Oscar and Johanna.

Rick wrapped his arms around Kate and hugged her. "They'll be fine," he told her. Kate allowed herself to melt into his body and let him work his magic. "I'm more concerned about this attack on Paladin. The possibility of things going awry is high and it has me more than a little worried. We have to wait until I have 3 days off before I can leave," she said. Which meant they had 3 days starting tomorrow to plan this attack.

Her first problem was how to get there. Rick opened an expandable map on his laptop with Kate sitting next to him while Alexis was outside playing with Midas and Maggie. "We're here." He zoomed in on Newcastle and expanded out from there. "The closest body of water is north of here, Hudson Bay. Or you can fly at night and avoid large Canadian cities and air bases to reach the Atlantic then fly south maybe." He traced a route using his finger.

"How fast can you swim?" he asked. Kate had to wait for her dragon. "Half as fast as I can fly," she told him. "So you need to fly more than swim, even if swimming would help hide you. Now where do you cross?" He moved over to Africa. "I'm thinking you should fly across Africa since the Mediterranean and Europe along with Russia are just too dangerous. If anyone picks you up on radar they'll send fighters to intercept you." He was really worried about that. Fortunately Africa didn't have that problem for the most part.

"I'm guessing it'll be daylight by the time you hit Gabon and the Congo. I doubt they have much in the way of an airforce or anti-aircraft guns so flying across them and Tanzania should be easy in daylight. Plus if anyone does see you it would take days or maybe weeks, if not months, for them to get word out," he reassured her.

"There is this chain of islands off of India where you could land and rest till the sun goes down and then fly to his home." Rick zoomed over to that location. "Oops, maybe these islands on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal would be better," he suggested when he realized Chana's home was closer to Burma than it was to India itself. He moved to the place itself and brought up pictures. "Well, that makes it easy to find. It's the only colored house in the entire village," he pointed out since everything around him was concrete grey.

"Destroy the house and fly out. Cross Africa in the same place and fly until the sun comes up. Do what you think is right or swim underwater till you reach the bay in Canada again and then fly home at night. Find an island in the Caribbean to rest before moving on maybe," he proposed.

"Now what about food?" he wondered since she was going to be naked as a human. _'Not a problem, we eat fresh fish or maybe even a whale_ _,_ _'_ her dragon told her. "Apparently that's not going to be an issue or so my dragon tells me." Kate was just going to sleep while her dragon hunted down a whale and ate it raw. "You're sure? Staying a dragon for that long is going to require you to eat a lot," he warned her. "I'm positive," she responded thinking an entire whale should be enough.

"Something you want to change? Some of this is going to have to change along the way anyhow based on what you see and what you encounter," he cautioned her. "I suppose flying close to the water would be best. Dive into the ocean when I need to and swim. I'll hopefully avoid anyone's radar that way. Maybe pick up a snack along the way," she remarked. _'Thank you!'_ Her dragon knew she was going to get hungry fast.

"Worried about something?" Rick asked her since she had been mostly silent during this. "No, not worried exactly. It's just that if I do this at night I'm going to be killing an entire family. Not just the guy in charge but his kids as well." Kate still had a problem with that.

"I know, trust me I know. If someone was after Alexis again..." He put an arm around her and hugged her. "I still remember when Paladin showed up here. The all-consuming fear I felt for Alexis as I ran into the house straight into a hail of bullets..." He shuddered as he recalled that day a little too well.

"I felt it too and I was so scared, but not for myself. They were after both you and Alexis. All I felt was an overwhelming fear that I was going to lose both of you. That was before I even knew I had a dragon inside me." Kate knew she had to go through with the mission for the sake of all shifters worldwide. It was just that she wasn't going to feel good about herself afterwards for a long, long time.

"I'll have an award-winning bear hug waiting for you." He hugged her now to remind her what would be waiting for her when she got home.

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Amber had the day off and Kate left the office early slightly before it got dark. She arrived home to find Rick shoving food at her. "Just eat it. As a dragon you're going to burn it all off quickly anyway," he told her. "Eat!" He encouraged her even though the sun had gone down 30 minutes ago. "I can't eat anymore. I already don't feel well from all I've eaten. Besides it's dark out and _I have got to leave!_ " She pushed away what he'd put in front of her.

Moments later Kate and Rick were outside just past Alexis's playset. Her mother and Oscar had left yesterday for their flight to Phoenix. Serena was keeping up her end of this deal so far; it was time for Kate to do her part. She stripped off all her clothes, handed them to Rick and found herself surrounded by Rick's arms. She buried her face into his chest and let him hold her. Kate moaned when he let go of her. She loved being in his arms.

"I promise there will be a hug waiting for you when you get back. Stay safe. Always remember I love you." And Rick kissed her like he was never going to see her again. "I love you too babe, so very much." Kate wrapped her arms around him, then let go, and started to run. As she ran she changed into her dragon, leapt into the air, and flew north into the night sky.

"Please, come back to me Kate," he said brokenly as he sent his prayer to the stars. Rick couldn't see her anymore but still he stood there and watched till he finally turned around and went back inside to spend time with Alexis. Maybe being with his little girl would help take his mind off of what Kate was about to do.

"Did Mom go into work?" Alexis asked as soon as Rick showed up. "Yes pumpkin, she went into work. But she'll be back. It's only for a few days." They had explained to Alexis that Kate needed to work and would be gone for a while. Rick was only worried that his little girl was too smart for her own good and would figure out that Kate hadn't gone into the office.

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Kate was only partially in control. She let her dragon do most everything while she just watched and offered suggestions. She was relatively high which allowed her to see the topography of where she was. Knowing her location allowed her to fly out over Hudson Bay where she turned east then flew over a sparsely populated part of Canada and out over the Labrador Sea before heading south into the Atlantic Ocean.

She didn't feel the flapping of her wings or how hard her lungs were working. She left all that to her dragon. She knew the airlines were high above her so all she needed to worry about was any ships in the area. Kate told her dragon that she was probably high enough to show up on someone's radar and that maybe she should fly a little lower.

Kate saw some ships but they were all container ships traveling somewhere. So far nothing to cause her concern. _'How are you doing?'_ she asked her dragon. _'I'm fine,'_ her dragon responded. _'Which means what exactly? I'm in here too, you know.'_ She wanted a real answer. _'I'm fine, just starting to get a little hungry,'_ her dragon admitted, which caught Kate by surprise. Rick had her eat until she was ready to burst and she was hungry already!?

She noticed that they were flying less than a hundred feet above the water at best. It was just enough that her wingtips didn't hit the water. All of a sudden she dove into the water as the sun was starting to come up. Kate kept watching and found that she was fishing as a large school of she-didn't-know-what went into her mouth. This was followed by a tight turn that chased down another school that went into her mouth. She realized that they were getting deeper then suddenly went up, really fast. When she broke the water she leapt up into the sky, worked hard to gain altitude then headed for land just as the sun came up.

Suddenly they were going down in a steep dive towards a river. When they got there she grabbed something with her two front legs and her dragon struggled to get back up into the air. She saw something suddenly get thrown out in front of her and into her mouth it went. It was followed by another one. _'Was that a hippo?'_ Kate hadn't gotten a really good look at it. _'If you say so. Whatever it was, it was tasty,'_ her dragon replied. Being a dragon really was different! They continued to follow the river and Kate saw another two hippos enter her mouth.

Then she flew over the first really large settlement they had seen so far on this trip. Kate had no trouble noticing that she had been spotted when a number of people were pointing up in the sky. _'We've been spotted,'_ Kate announced. _'Can't be helped. Humans are everywhere.'_ She didn't detect any animosity in the statement, though it was mentioned like something out of an encyclopedia. Just a statement of fact.

They flew over several smaller communities and each time Kate could see people pointing. It wasn't until she reached the coast that she flew over the southern edge of a larger port city and out into the Indian Ocean. They were doing fine till Kate saw something. _**'WAR SHIP! HIT THE WATER AND SWIM!'**_ she screamed and soon found herself diving into the water, going deep. What she didn't know was if she'd been spotted, though if they were any good they likely saw her. She also didn't know whose ship it was since she didn't have time to look for a flag. She didn't know what kind of war ship it was either, only that it wasn't an aircraft carrier.

Kate felt herself coming up. _'Flying might not be such a good idea yet,'_ she cautioned and found herself leveling out and still swimming. _'I'm actually breathing water. This is so cool!'_ She was enjoying this. That was until Kate saw two little somethings headed right for them. Then she found herself spinning and going deeper again. _"What the hell was that?'_ Kate asked. _'I don't know but here comes two more of them.'_ She spun and quickly rose, headed for the surface as fast as possible only to level out and then work herself a little deeper and keep swimming. As she did she saw something big come into view. It was long and round. _'That's a submarine!'_ Kate recognized its shape but she didn't know whose it was.

She swam right over the top of it and her dragon used one of her claws to rip it open from bow to stern then she never saw it again. She could, however, feel some pressure changes behind her as the submarine quickly flooded and imploded when it reached its crushing depth. The crew was long since dead.

' _Did we just kill that crew?'_ Kate demanded. _'They were trying to kill_ **us** _,'_ her dragon said, defending her actions as she kept swimming towards the islands where she would rest till dark.

She chased another school of fish and she watched a lot of them go into her mouth followed by twisting to get still more.

Kate finally broke water, leapt up into the air, and struggled to gain altitude. It turned out to be good timing as the northern larger island of Andaman came into view. _'Maybe land in that northern most area with the field of trees?'_ Kate suggested since she didn't see any buildings in the area and certainly no towns or cities.

She felt like it was a controlled crash landing as far as she was concerned. Several trees ended up being broken and lying on the ground. Once she felt secure she shifted back into a naked human and started looking around. "It's an orange tree grove," Kate exclaimed in delight as she recognized the fruit. Some of it looked ripe enough to eat which had her picking one and peeling it. She gave it a tentative taste test. "Yep, it's an orange alright." She devoured the rest of it and picked up several more. Looking around it looked like night was at least a couple of hours away. "Two days to get here means two days to get back. I hope Rick can convince the office that I won't be in," she said to herself as she peeled and ate the second orange.

Kate worked at finding some place comfortable where she could rest and maybe get some sleep.

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Rick had been doing what he could to keep Alexis busy and it was working out pretty well he thought until he heard those dreaded words, "Dad, when's Mom coming home?" For such a long time it had been just him and his little girl; he was who she turned to when she needed someone. Now Kate was in their lives and as much as Rick was missing her, it seemed his little girl was too. "Just a couple more days pumpkin. Her work is keeping her away and her work is important. She really is needed, you should be proud of her," he gently told her hoping that it was enough. Watching his little girl walk away dejectedly told him it hadn't been. He chased her down and wrapped her up in his arms. "I miss Kate too pumpkin, but she'll be home soon. It's just two more days." Rick hoped the power of his hug would last.

Given what time it was and the change in time zones Rick could guess where she was. "This better work," he remarked heatedly. "The price that we're all paying is high, especially for my Kate..."

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Kate was startled awake but had no idea what it was that had done it. "Damn it, its dark out." She had slept too long! She actually lifted her arm to look at her wrist but dropped it when she remembered she was naked and didn't have a watch. _'We need to get moving. Why didn't you wake me?'_ Kate questioned her dragon. _'Ignore that stupid question,'_ she quickly added. _'Babe can you hear me?'_ Kate really wanted to hear his voice, even if it was just in her head. _'How are you doing? Where are you?'_ Rick responded quickly. His voice caused Kate to sigh; even at that distance he made her feel better. _'I'm on the island still and it's dark. I was just getting ready to make my way to the target.'_ She hoped that if she thought of it as a target it would diminish the fact that she was about to kill kids.

' _Any trouble?'_ he asked. _'A little actually. We were attacked by someone and we sank a submarine. I don't know whose though,'_ she said, telling him the truth. _'I'm sure it couldn't be helped. Better get going and come back safe. We miss you so be careful and remember, we both love you,'_ he told her. _'I love you too, babe,'_ she replied and began jogging to find the edge of the island. She let her dragon take over once she reached it.

The target was almost due north of them; she just had to avoid any large coastal towns and started using the mountains to hide herself. It took some time and a number of turns to reach it. _'I think that's it!'_ Kate saw a light, sort of purple-colored large building come into view in the dark. She came right at it and felt her lungs expand greatly then empty as a massive stream of fire reached out to touch the building. She flew over it and continued past as she made a wide turn and came in for another run.

Part of the building was basically missing while what was left was partially on fire as Kate felt her lungs expand and she exhaled as another blast of fire touched the building.

She made another wide turn and came back for another run. Kate could see about a third of the building remained as she came back in again from the same direction as the first time. Once more Kate felt her lungs expand and she exhaled a stream of fire that touched what was left of the building.

She flew over it and made still another wide turn. Kate didn't see much of the building was left as they approached it. This time, however, she coughed three times quickly and saw little red blobs fly out like the one she had used to open Hunt's safe. They flew to the target, struck the area, and exploded.

It was at this time not that far away that a set of red eyes popped open and a toothy smile formed. It had been dark until the eyes opened. The red of the eyes gave the space an eerie glow and the evil that existed there could almost be tasted. The smile only made things worse. It stirred and shook loose the dust that covered it. It felt Kate and knew that it was time, a new body awaited and he was going to take it.

After that last run she headed back the way she came only this time she didn't stop at the island and just kept flying.

Kate wasn't sure just how much time had passed when she saw two small flashes of flame that didn't make sense to her in the distance over the water. That was until suddenly two items hit her and exploded. She felt them but also knew that she hadn't been hurt much, certainly nothing she couldn't heal. _'Missiles maybe?'_ Kate offered as she flew down closer to the water. Suddenly a large ship came into view and to her it looked like a military ship. This time she was trying to see a flag when she felt her lungs expand and just as she was about to fly over it, a stream of fire reached out and touched the ship just before she passed over it and continued flying. This was followed by a huge blast and a shock wave of the ship blowing what was left of it to pieces.

' _Babe, who has a flag that's orange on top, white in the middle, and green on the bottom with a blue circle in the middle?"_ Kate called out to Rick. _'Give me a minute,'_ he didn't know so he had to find his laptop. _'That's the flag of India,'_ he replied and wondered why she needed to know. _'I think I just sunk an Indian war ship that shot missiles at me,'_ she responded which had Rick turning on the TV to check the news.

She flew over Africa in roughly the same location as last time, only this time it was in the middle of the night. She watched as her dragon snatched up another pair of hippos, ate them whole, and kept flying. They came out over the Atlantic Ocean and once again went fishing before flying for home.

This time Kate stopped as the sun was coming up on the northern end of Flores Island in the Azores. She landed near a stream where her dragon drank deeply before changing back into a human. She was a few miles outside of Ponta Delgada. She did her best to make herself a bed to rest on and went to sleep.

Come the next day Rick was beginning to get worried. He should have heard from her by now. _'Kate where are you? Tell me how you're doing,'_ he called out and heard nothing in return. His writer's imagination began working overtime. _**'KATE TALK TO ME!'**_ he bellowed at her in panic. _'Go away! 'M trying to sleep,'_ she grumbled at him.

He collapsed onto the sofa. Kate was fine! And he closed his eyes in relief.

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It was days later when Rick and Kate hear the news about India losing a guided missile corvette in the Indian Ocean where no one took credit for its sinking. India had just finished building two of them called the Kirch and Kulish in 2001. The one they had lost was from 1998 and was called the Kora. The missiles they had fired at Kate cost India a crew of 134 and $35,000,000. Whoever lost a submarine wasn't admitting it, so they never did find out whose it was.

What was really in the news for a short time was the complete destruction of the house that had held the largest family on the planet. A search had yet to turn up any surviving family members. Kate was sitting on Rick's lap, his arms around her. "This had better have been worth it babe. It had better have been worth it." His hug wasn't helping her much this time. She had killed a lot of people all because of one man's xenophobia. Ziona Chana, the head and creator of Paladin was dead.

What showed up on the front page of the Star and other cheap, tabloid magazines were stories about a dragon being spotted in Africa and not just any dragon, a purple dragon no less! Still this story never made it into mainstream press. However in the region, it was talked about and and the story was handed down from generation to generation as the size of the dragon kept getting bigger and bigger.


	62. Chapter 62

**Epilogue**

 **CH62**

Kate was in bed and had gone to sleep after making love to her husband wrapped up in his arms. Hours later Kate was squirming in bed as her eyes moved frantically under her closed eye lids.

Kate was outside; she was naked and it was cold now. There was a soft layer of snow already on the ground and it was still coming down heavily. She was doing her best to keep her children warm as she did her best to cover her clutch of eggs.

Her children needed to remain warm or they would die. She had a cache of 8 eggs that she was doing her best to cover with her body. She was also tired and in pain. She had spent the last 8-1/2 months walking around the house and even going into work for an hour feeling and looking like a house. Her belly was huge.

Then finally she went outside and stripped off all her clothes. She dug her nest and gave birth while screaming from the pain. Except instead of human babies she gave birth to 8 huge eggs that were easily the size of a bowling ball. The pain had been excruciating and she was sure she had passed out after the last one passed.

Now she had to keep them warm and protect them from predators. She cursed as the snow continued to fall and she herself was starting to freeze.

"MY BABIES!" And Kate gave up and collapsed and started to freeze.

Kate literally all but shot out of bed as she woke up and remembered her dream. Rick was missing though the sheets were still warm so he hadn't been gone long.

"If I give birth to 8 eggs that I have to keep warm for another 9 months, I'm so going to shoot you Rick. So help me God." She collapsed back onto the bed and twisted and turned and tried to forget her dream and go back to sleep. "You're a dead man Rick," she muttered in her sleep.

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Kate rolled over when she was awakened yet again, only the other side of the bed was empty and the sheets were a little cool. "So much for getting help this time," she groaned, not that Rick could help if it was the one thing that she was thinking it was.

She had been going into the office for about an hour just to be brought up to speed before going back home. "What the hell are you doing here? Go home and tend to your family," Elizabeth chastised her severely the first time. By the third time she just glared at Kate and said nothing.

She rolled out of bed but she still felt pain even if it had been a couple of weeks ago. She managed to stand and walked over to the bassinet. She looked down and felt her heart melt all over again just like it had the first time she had been handed her little girl immediately after giving birth to her. "And what has you awake this time? Hmm?" She scooped her up and held her close which got her to stop crying. She didn't smell anything and a quick peek told her that the diaper was still clean. "So you must be hungry this time. I can handle that and leave daddy to change the dirty diapers." She smiled remembering when she watched Rick change the first dirty diaper with practiced ease.

She gingerly sat down into the glider rocker that they had bought and put in their room just for this purpose. She also found that if she didn't nurse her little girl her breasts would fill up with milk and start to hurt in a new way. She opened a shirt of Rick's that she slept in. She had allowed him to have the other one back and took this one out of the hamper before it was washed. She liked the smell of the shirt; she was surrounded by Rick's scent. Besides she hoped that their little girl would get used to his scent faster this way.

Ava Lynn Castle. Kate had approved of the name once Rick explained what Ava stood for. "It feels like a more modern variant of Eve, but this name has been around for millennia. In Hebrew, Eve means "breath or life." But there's a version of Ava in Persian, which means "voice, sound," or in ancient German, which likely meant 'desired,'" he had explained and that had done it for her.

Kate felt Ava latch onto her nipple and start nursing. She held her baby girl in place tenderly and remembered when they had brought her home from the hospital. She was still very sore from having given birth and took her time getting out of Rick's truck with his help. He got Ava out of her car seat in the back seat and handed her over to Kate. She held the baby in her arms unwilling to let go of her. Alexis had hopped out and ran up the stairs to unlock and open the front door for her when she got that far. However when Alexis opened the door Midas and Maggie flew out and charged down the stairs to see Kate who hadn't been home in a few days. But before they reached her they both hit the brakes and began barking. Then all hell broke loose.

Kate instantly lost control of Ava as her beautiful baby girl shifted into the cutest little baby Amethyst dragon she had ever seen. She was up on all fours spreading her wings, snapping at Midas and Maggie who backed off and kept barking.

It took a lot of work and Alexis yelling at them from the front door to get Midas and Maggie to run back to Alexis. "Ava sweetie, you need to shift back for mommy. Please! I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Kate was down on her knees and trying to get a hold on her baby dragon that was a lot bigger than she thought was possible. It took a number of soothing strokes and kisses before she had a naked baby in her arms again with a shredded onesie lying on the ground along with a diaper.

"Well, that answers that question," Rick commented as he did his best to keep from laughing. Kate, however, was very concerned that Ava would change when they had company. How the hell would they even begin to be able to explain that?

She had only made it as far as the living room when Johanna and Oscar showed up. Their sudden unexpected arrival had scared Ava, Kate guessed. Ava shifted into a baby dragon again and things only got worse when Johanna shrieked in surprise. That made Midas and Maggie start barking. Suddenly they had two dogs and a dragon running around the house!

The adults were chasing dogs, a baby dragon, and each other as Alexis just watched, laughing at everyone. None of the adults were making any progress when Rick made them stop for a minute. When they did and actually paid attention to what was going on they realized Ava as a dragon was chasing the dogs one direction only to have the dogs turn around, chasing her back the other.

Ava was out in front and rounded everyone and the furniture in the house with Midas and Maggie hot on her heels or claws only to disappear down the stairs. When they came back up Midas and Maggie were out front with Ava right on their heels or paws."That's our sweet girl!" Rick commented and began laughing. It took time to corral Ava and the dogs and get her to shift back into a naked baby girl. "You've certainly got your hands full Katie," Johanna said as she chuckled at the turn of events. Katie had kept her mom and her father on their toes since she was born, now it was _her_ turn.

"We have our own announcement," Oscar said, practically bursting with joy as Johanna held out her left hand to show off the ring he had put on it. Kate's eyes widened as she held her mom's hand to look at it.

 _Platinum, 18K Yellow Gold prongs to hold the natural Ruby, Ruby and Diamond Engagement Ring, the center heated Mozambique ruby at 4.40 carats framed by two trapezoid diamonds at 0.88 carats._

"It's gorgeous Mom." Kate was actually happy for her. She had welcomed Oscar into her life because he was important to her mother and now he was going to be her stepfather. Kate would have gotten up to hug her but her arms were filled with Ava.

"Thanks sweetheart." Johanna couldn't express what she felt that her daughter could accept her marrying Oscar. "Though we have one more announcement to make." Now Kate was worried because of the look on her mother's face. Her heart fell into her stomach. Her mother was sick. She had breast cancer...ovarian cancer or something worse.

Johanna didn't know how to say it so she just blurted it out, "I'm pregnant." Kate knew her mouth had fallen open; she was shocked into silence. "Katie, say something," Johanna begged. Kate's mouth opened and closed like a fish as her mind tried to catch up. "Please Katie say something, anything. I know I'm too old to be pregnant." She simply stared at her mother as in her peripheral vision she saw Rick hugging Oscar and slapping him on his back and saying something. However she wasn't listening to what Rick was saying.

"Pregnant?" she finally croaked out. "About nine weeks," Johanna said quietly and sat next to her daughter. "Please say something. I'm so scared." Actually Johanna was petrified. Being pregnant at her age was usually fraught with complications, none of them good for her or the baby.

Kate felt Ava leaving her arms and turned her head to see Rick lifting Ava from her arms. She hugged her mom. "Pregnant," Kate whispered. She knew her mom and Oscar had gone to Rapid City during the day the restaurant was closed, she just didn't know why. Until now.

"You're really pregnant?" Kate asked while still holding onto her mother and saw and felt her mother nod. "I'm scared Katie. Women my age who get pregnant usually have problems and can lose the baby. I'm really scared." Kate could see tears streaming down her mom's face.

Her heart broke all over again for her. She crushed her mother in a hug and wished her hugs could do what Rick's hugs did. "It'll be fine Mom. I'll drive you to Rapid City every week. Lights and siren if I have to. You're going to be the healthiest person in this room. Is it a him or a her? ...Never mind you wouldn't know yet," she said as she smacked her own head.

She turned on Oscar ready to grill him. "We've already looked into getting a replacement cook for the restaurant so she isn't working herself to death. I intend to take very good care of her. I promise you Kate, I love your mother so very much," Oscar spoke before she could threaten him over her mother's health.

Kate was brought out her own mind and her memories. "Hi Mom!" Alexis walked in, stepped right up, then ran a hand over her little sister's head that was still latched onto Kate's nipple. "Hi Ava."

"Alexis, sweetie, you _do_ know that I love you and I always will, don't you? Having Ava doesn't change that. I just need to spend more time with her because she needs me more now," Kate said anxiously. She didn't want Alexis upset with her or to resent the baby. "I know Mom, Dad told me." Kate started breathing again. One more thing to love Rick over. "Where's your father?" Kate questioned her. "On the phone downstairs. He said Elizabeth's name," Alexis told her. That told Kate that he was talking to the people at work, likely about her and the baby.

It was just as Ava let go of Kate's nipple that Midas and Maggie came into the room and stuck their noses into everything. She suddenly had a baby dragon in her lap who then leapt out of it and onto the floor. "OUCH, that hurt Ava!" Kate chastised her. Ava bowed her head like she understood her then burped loudly and ran off chasing Midas and Maggie. "I guess breakfast is over. I hope the house can withstand this," Kate commented wryly.

"Mom, why can Ava run as a dragon but can't do anything as a baby?" Alexis didn't understand that part. "Baby dragons are bigger and stronger than human babies. They have to be able to defend themselves from predators. Do you want to play with her? We can go outside and you can be a bear and play with your sister." Kate figured they were far enough from the highway and Ava wasn't much bigger than the dogs if you took away her wings. "CAN I!?" Alexis exclaimed suddenly interested. "Of course. Let her chase the dogs for a while, take a nap, get fed a few times, then you two can go out after dinner," Kate offered. She found herself being hugged by Alexis who amazingly felt like a mini version of Rick. "Thanks Mom!"

Alexis had been worried that she wouldn't get to do anything with the baby for years. Now she was going to get to play with her sister later! She was so excited! Alexis ran off to tell her dad. "You're welcome," Kate called after she was gone. Alexis made her smile.

Kate went downstairs and found Rick just getting off the phone. "What did she say?" Kate asked him. "They have everything under control," he told her. "I'm still going in for an hour," she told him. "Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Are we still driving to Casper tomorrow?" he asked knowing they had made plans. Kate was technically off on maternity leave for the next four weeks.

Because they had made plans to go to Casper, Amber had to make a choice: find a baby sitter for Sam or let her go with Rick and Kate. Kate had brought Ava into the office yesterday and kept telling her that she was safe and not to shift into a dragon. The women, including Amber, had cooed over Ava and even got to hold her. "I love babies," Rebecca announced while stroking her little head and giving it a light kiss. "You did good Kate," Amber informed her. Ava did her part and simply made adorable baby sounds to the women's delight.

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Johanna and Oscar were resting at home while Serena and Joanne were sitting with Rick and Kate after she got back while Alexis was out back playing with Midas and Maggie and Ava was sleeping upstairs. "You're sure this was the only way?" Kate asks knowing that it was already too late. "Our family talked it over for a while and came up with options. Even Joanne and I discussed more options on our flight out here. Fly and buy what we needed. Just i don't have any contacts in India, don't know who to contact to get what we want. Plus Joanne and hasn't had a lot of training or experience in killing someone almost hand to hand." Serena points out.

"Killing does change you i won't lie." Kate comments remembering the first person she killed. It was part of the job and she had to but it didn't make her feel any better about it. "Why didn't you take a commercial flight to the area and then fly as a Dragon?" Serena questions. "Paper trail mostly. We didn't want someone to come ask us questions even if they had no real reason to." Rick answers her question.

"How are you feeling?"Joanne looks at Kate being concerned. "Still a little sick actually. Killing off Paladin cost a lot of people their lives. Those military vessels a little though it's those children who no longer have a future that haunts me the most." Kate admits. "Children that were being brought up to despise shifters. One or more of them would have taken over for their father when the time came." Serena counters. "There just had to be another way." Kate sinks into Rick looking for comfort and gets a hug while sitting next to him.

"You mentioned you two were getting married." Rick offers taking them off a topic that no one liked. "We are actually and I can't wait." Joanne took a hold of Serena's arm. "I'm still on her on where and when." Serena glares at her and only gets Joanne to smile back at her. "Tell us when and where and we'll be there." Kate brightens up. "Thank you Detective Beckett, that means a lot to me." Joanne was glad to have her. "It's Sheriff Castle now actually." Kate squeezed Rick's arm.

Their conversation was interrupted when the baby monitor showed that Ava was awake. "That's my que." Kate gets up gingerly, still feeling a little of the pain from giving birth and heads upstairs. "BABE IT'S A DIRTY DIAPER!" Kate yells down which got Rick to groan as he gets up and heads upstairs. They were both far enough away. "Kate has him well trained." Serena chuckles getting Joanne to laugh.

"Have you been watching the news lately?" Serena asks after they are both back. "Don't look at me." Kate holds up her hands. Only one missile corvette and one submarine had been her doing. She knew she had nothing to do with all the cargo ships that were being sunk over the last few months near India. Eight ships in total so far costing someone millions of dollars.

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"Everyone ready?" Rick asked as he got behind the wheel of the new SUV they had bought to accommodate their larger family and the dogs. Baby seat, booster seat and 2 dogs required more space than his truck could provide. Now they had a diesel 2002 Ford Expedition. Kate was in the center row making soothing sounds at Ava in her car seat to keep her calm, hoping she would sleep through this trip. Alexis, Sam, and the dogs were in the back. "Ready Dad." Alexis was excited about taking a short trip. "Ready Mr. Rodgers." Sam was happy to be going somewhere again. Even if it was to someone's house she had barely met earlier.

"Tell me again what Lanie said," Rick coaxed. Kate rolled her eyes. For some reason he loved what she'd said. "Lanie said, 'Get your skinny little butt out here girlfriend. I want to see my goddaughter or I'll hurt you,'" she told him again which made him chuckle once more.

It was normally a 2-1/2 hour drive. However with stops to let the dogs out and do their thing, a stop to let the girls out and into the restroom so they could do their thing, and a stop so Kate could feed Ava. "Babe could you stop again?" she looked at him apologetically. Rick got out with Kate and they both used the restroom before getting back on the road. It became an almost 3-1/2 hour drive making them late.

Rick parked in the street since Lanie's driveway was filled with cars, both Hondas. Kate knew from Lanie that she had gotten a 2002 Cadillac Escalade AWD. It was black inside and out with black rims; that told her Javi had talked her into something for him.

Kate was still thankful for what Serena had done as part of their deal. Espo had gotten the job as detective in Casper while Kevin had gotten a job as detective in Cheyenne. Jenny had applied and been hired in a law firm and was doing well the last she knew.

They had all barely gotten out of the SUV when the front door of the white 2-story house that Lanie had bought opened and out came Lanie, Javi, Kevin, and Jenny with Sarah Grace. The dogs hadn't seen any of them for a while and wanted to be petted first.

Kate said soothing words to Ava and hoped she was comfortable with everyone, since the second Lanie reached her she lifted Ava out of her arms and started cooing to her.

Kate got hugs from them all while Rick got to meet everyone again followed by Alexis and Sam. "Come on inside, I've got all your rooms all set up. And wait till you see what Oscar did to my kitchen!" Lanie's face lit up as she talked about her kitchen. Rick got the bags allowing Kate to step inside. "Kitchen nothing Lanie! What happened to the walls?" Kate looked around. She remembered what it looked like from the pictures. There was this small opening between the living room and kitchen while the kitchen was open to the dining room with all of the bedrooms upstairs.

Now the kitchen was open to everything. You could see the dining room and kitchen from the front door. "Isn't it great!" Lanie beamed. "Wait till you see the bathrooms." Lanie was proud about those too.

Kate hadn't even noticed the furniture yet which was also brand new. "Come on I want to show you something." Lanie, who still had Ava, took Kate into the kitchen and showed her everything. She had a Wolf gas fired four burner stove with a grill in the middle, a Z Line stainless steel range hood, a Bosch dishwasher, and a giant Sub Zero side by side refrigerator/freezer. Her stainless steel double bowl sink with a pre-rinse sprayer was in the island. "What is this?" Kate ran her hands over the countertop. "Polished concrete," Lanie said. "Seriously!?" Kate knew her mouth was hanging open, but she was shocked. There were recessed lights and the island/breakfast bar that could seat four that had pendant lights hanging over it. Now Kate turned and looked out into the room. "This is nice Lanie, really nice." Kate was impressed. It wasn't her home but this was nice.

"How's work?" Kate changed the subject. Lanie laughed. "Would you believe I just got back yesterday and used the plane they bought just for me?" Lanie told her, grinning. "So you like your new job?" Kate asked her. "It's amazing actually. They send me everywhere, most trips are at a moment's notice. They call and I drive or fly either that day or the next. New York City it's not," Lanie chuckled and gave up Ava when Rick came get her so he could show her off to the others.

Lanie opened up the refrigerator, pulled out a wine bottle, and poured both of them a drink even though it wasn't lunch yet. Lanie was handing over Kate's glass when Kate grabbed Lanie's free hand. "Lanie Parish, what have you done!?" Kate saw the diamond on her finger. Lanie didn't blush often or easy, however she did now. "Javi proposed yesterday," she told Kate, still getting used to the idea. "JAVI PROPOSED!?" Kate was shocked. She was sure those two would dance around each other for the rest of their lives. Lanie was convinced that it was them moving away from New York that had got him to do it. Living out here had changed both of them.

Her outburst was heard throughout the entire house causing everyone to be silent. Jenny and Kevin hadn't noticed or heard the news even though they got there about 2 hours before Rick and Kate. "Trust me I'm as shocked as you are. He asked me out of the blue. He even had a ring in his hand," Lanie told them. "BRO!" Kevin hit him in the arm and then hugged him.

This brought out more wine and a few beers while the women talked to Lanie and Javi talked with the guys. They were still talking when they heard, "Are we going to eat?" Alexis asked softly. This was followed by Ava making her wants known. "You're first babe," Kate called out. He picked up the diaper bag and disappeared with the baby.

"How did you do that?" Jenny was impressed and jealous. "Skill Jenny, all skill," Kate laughed. "Which reminds me. Mom is marrying Oscar _and_ she's pregnant!" Kate told them. "Seriously? How old is she?" Jenny asked not really sure of Johanna's age. "Mom's 50, and 51 in just a few days and she said she's scared," Kate said quietly. "Your mother has reason to be. Significant medical risks exist including the increased possibility for gestational hypertension, diabetes, and preeclampsia — a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and possible organ damage. Stillbirth, preterm delivery, growth restriction, and hypertension. And that's just your mother. The baby could have Down syndrome and other genetic abnormalities," Lanie told her.

Kate was silent as she took that all in. "Not helping Lanie," Jenny whispered to her. "Just get her to see a reproductive endocrinologist. There's one here in Casper; I can make an appointment for her. If she's healthy, eats right and takes her vitamins, and doesn't exert herself, she and the baby have a better chance of being okay." Lanie tried to undo the damage she'd done. "Mom can't be up here for almost a week." Kate knew where she was at the moment and was worried about that too. Still Serena and Joanne hadn't mentioned any complications. "Just have her call me and I'll make an appointment for her. I'll even go with her if I'm here." Lanie was even afraid she'd get a call and have to leave tomorrow.

Rick brought in a fussy Ava and handed her off to Kate. "Your turn my love," Rick said. "Excuse me," Kate told them as she took Ava and got up. "Your room is up the stairs second door on the right," Lanie called to her back.

"How is Kate doing really?" Lanie could see something in her eyes. The problem was what Lanie saw was what she and her dragon had done. And Rick couldn't talk about that. "I'm not sure Kate has really adjusted to her mother being with Oscar or more likely it's her finding out her mother is pregnant again at her age. Kate worries about almost everything these days, I've noticed," he remarked.

"You should have seen her at the 12th. Kate was good at her job because she cared about the families she was trying to get justice for," Lanie commented. "But she's happier here than I've ever seen her. She really does love you Rick and I thank you for taking such good care of her. She's still my best friend," Lanie told him.

"I love her, too, Lanie. So very, very much. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had met her in New York years ago." In a way he wished he had met Kate before he ever met Meredith. Except that would mean he wouldn't have Alexis.

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Lanie stopped outside of the specialist's building having left Patch and Thor at her home. "She's Dr. Dana J. Roberson and she's expecting you." Lanie escorted Oscar and Johanna inside where they waited for her name to be called.

Johanna had been gone for a while. "I want to thank you for telling Kate about Dr. Roberson. Jo has been scared ever since she found out," Oscar told her. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Kate's tough and likely got that from her mother." Lanie was trying to be positive.

Oscar simply chuckled having found out how Johanna worked by now and still loved her or because of how she worked. It felt like a long time to both of them until Johanna came out. The smile that was on her face told both of them all they needed to know. "She gave me a brochure on what to eat and what to stay away from. I'll get my test results in a couple of days. I'm supposed to take it easy, take my list of vitamins, and see my OBGYN at least every 2 weeks if not weekly so he can watch for any problems," Johanna told them. "And his office is where?" Lanie asked. "Rapid City." Johanna scrunched up her face knowing he wasn't all that close.

"And?" Oscar asked her. "I'm perfectly healthy and she doesn't expect any complications though she does want me to discuss a possible C-section due to my age or possible size of the baby, but wants me to consult with my OBGYN and let him make that choice." Johanna said. She found herself in an Oscar bear hug; he had been scared too.

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Kate was carrying Ava while naked out the back door with Rick right next to her, Alexis not far behind. Kate and Rick felt funny about this but it was necessary if they didn't want to keep buying an entire wardrobe. Maybe a simple robe next time? It was dark out and she was hoping that was enough to hide what they were about to do.

She put Ava down on a blanket she had laid on the ground with Midas and Maggie next to her. "Okay sweetie, you can shift. We're going to go play as a family," Kate told her as she watched her naked human baby turn into a baby Amethyst dragon who took off after Midas and Maggie. "You're next pumpkin," Rick told her. Kate and Rick watched as a baby bear raced after the baby Amethyst dragon and a pair of Doberman Pinchers.

"Ready?" Rick asked looking at her. Seeing her naked had him thinking about making love to her when they got back. Would their next baby be another dragon or a bear? And if it was another dragon what color would it be?

"I love you Rick, so very much." Kate stepped into him to give and get a hug. She had come a long way since her days as a homicide detective in New York City. "I love you too Kate and I'm hoping for hundreds of years to prove it to you." He hugged her and soothed away her fears about the future.

He stepped back and shifted into a truly large Kodiak Bear and then took off after the others. Kate hesitated and went back to worrying. She was big and would only get bigger as she aged as well as become more powerful. She shifted into a juvenile Amethyst dragon and took off running to catch up to her family. In time she would teach her little girl how to fly.

What both of them missed that night on the international news was a monumental decision made by several major powers. Over the last year ships in the Indian Ocean had been sinking for an unknown reason and it was costing countries millions if not billions. Let alone the insurance companies and companies that were losing ships.

Several countries were sending warships into the area to assist the Indian Navy to combat the problem. The United States was sending 4 Arleigh Burke destroyers while China was sending 2 coast guard ships and the Russians were sending 2 Slave-class cruisers and 2 Udaloy-class destroyers. They didn't want to be outdone by the Americans.

Worst of all, survivors were few and far between. There was only one thing each survivor had in common and it was being kept a closely guarded secret. Each country had threatened the survivors' entire families if the survivors talked to the press.

Blazing red eyes that felt like pure evil staring at them and chilling their very souls. _**PURE EVIL!**_


End file.
